To Dream a Dream With You
by starsxhearts23
Summary: Eleanor Desjardins, Paul Levesque's assistant in NXT, has always caught the eye of one Rami Sebei, better known as Sami Zayn. How will their relationship play out in the tumultuous world of professional wrestling?
1. Chapter 1

_January 19, 2015_

As Eleanor maneuvered her way throughout the halls of the WWE Performance Centre, she tried to perfect her juggling act of carrying a tray of four coffees in one hand, her own coffee in the other, her constantly buzzing and pinging and ringing iPhone between her thumb and index finger, and her notebook under her arm. And even though her boss was expecting her, she kicked on the door politely anyway instead of barging into his office. She never knew whom she was going to find in there, and she didn't want to take any chances.

None other than William Regal, who had a pleasant smile on his face as he saw her juggling act, opened the door. She smiled politely at him before seeing her boss sitting as his desk in the same position she left him in: phone in his ear, papers scattered across his desk, and the top button on his dress shirt undone (what she called the 'getting shit done' look). He looked to the door and saw her walk towards his desk, placing the coffees down, and abruptly ended the conversation. "That's the last time I'm gonna ask you to go on a coffee run this week, I swear," he said apologetically.

Eleanor snickered at his sentiment. "Paul, how many times are we going to do this?" she asked rhetorically. "You say that, then two days later I'm back at Starbucks ordering everyone their venti non-fat soy triple shot extra hot no foam macchiatos."

Paul Levesque, otherwise known as Triple H, laughed at her. "Come on. What do you get?"

"I get a simple latte on the company card and call it a day," she said, handing him his coffee. She looked over at William Regal. "I take it this grande Earl Gray, one sugar, splash of milk is for the classy Englishman."

"Right indeed," Regal smiled, taking his tea from her. He looked at Paul, "How'd you find her? I'd like to get one too."

Paul shook his head. "She used to be Stephanie's assistant. Don't even think about it. You're not taking her from me if you tripled her salary."

"Why not?"

"I'd quadruple it."

Eleanor stood awkwardly as the men talked about her – even though it was all glowing and implied praise, she still felt uncomfortable. "What else do you need me to do?"

Paul turned on his business demeanor again after taking a sip of his coffee. "I think Dream is out with the kids in one of the rings. Go get him, and then take minutes for the meeting we're going to have."

Eleanor nodded her head once and departed the room, on her way to find the good old American Dream, Dusty Rhodes.

Eleanor wasn't too sure how exactly she came into this position, working for the WWE in Florida and being directly in constant contact with some of the most powerful people in the company. All she did was answer a job advertisement one day – a pretty vague one, to be honest – to be an executive assistant for the boss of a major multi-million dollar company. When she was hired for the job, she found out she would be assisting Stephanie McMahon from the WWE. The rest was history.

Eleanor had worked with Stephanie for about one year. They got along great, much like she and Paul did now, but when Paul began to take care of NXT, Stephanie knew he would need more help than she did. So, one day Stephanie approached Eleanor and asked if she would mind being transferred to work for Paul, mostly down in Orlando at the Performance Centre, but still travelling for some Raw shows. Eleanor agreed, and before she knew it, she was living in a condo in Orlando with a company car, taking meeting minutes sitting next to Dusty Rhodes.

The switch was about a year and a half ago now, making it almost three years working with the WWE, and she couldn't have asked for anything more. Of course there were grievances, particular things she didn't like about how things were run or handled, or people she didn't like to work with, but she enjoyed getting up every morning and working with the people she did like. Better yet, she enjoyed the traveling she got to do, however long or short it was: flying out Monday mornings to a random location in the States, only to fly back to Orlando on Tuesday; accompanying Paul on international tours. Not a lot of people were as lucky, and Eleanor constantly reminded herself to thank her lucky stars.

As she walked to the area where the rings were set up, the familiar sound of bodies pounding the mats filled the air. A lot of familiar faces were hovering around, and some unfamiliar faces, but she scanned to see where Dream was, and found him chatting with Rami and Ben, NXT's Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville. She approached them timidly; always self-conscious about interrupting what could be an important conversation between mentors and new wrestlers.

When Dusty Rhodes noticed her approaching, he couldn't help but smile. "Has the boss lady come to take me away?" he asked in his distinct accent.

"Unfortunately, the boss-man has sent to me retrieve you," she said. "Your meeting starts in five."

"Stop calling him the boss-man, lady," Dusty said as he got up from his seat. "Everybody knows you be running the show around here. Paul would forget his head in the morning if you didn't screw it on for him."

Rami and Ben looked amused at the blushing Eleanor. "Keep sweet-talking me Dream and maybe one day I'll sneak in a treat when I go on my coffee runs."

Dusty winked at her before someone she didn't recognize approached him and began asking him a slew of questions, prompting her to turn towards Ben and Rami. She had known both Rami and Ben for a while now since being employed with WWE and they were always very pleasant with her, which is more than she could say for some others. Although everybody was generally nice, Ben and Rami would always go the extra mile in chatting her up and offering to help carry Starbucks cups if they saw her in one of her juggling acts. "How are you guys doing?" she asked.

"Good as always, love," Ben answered in his Geordie accent.

"Can't complain," Rami replied. "What's Paul got you doing today?"

"Coffee runs, meeting minutes," she shrugged her shoulders. "The usual. What's Dream having you do?"

"Oh, uh…nothing," Rami responded. "We were just discussing -"

"Dream and Rami were just discussing possible spots for his next match. I was just tuning in," Ben interrupted him.

"Oh, that's cool," Eleanor smiled. "Is this the one against Kevin?" she asked.

Rami nodded his head. "Will you be there?"

"Of course I will be," Eleanor replied to a smiling Rami. She noticed Ben nudging Rami, trying to be inconspicuous. Did he want to ask her something about Paul? Did he want to talk to her about something Dusty said? Did he want her to reveal some insider info on what the meeting was about? Everybody always wanted her to reveal insider knowledge from all those meetings she always attended, but she was sworn to secrecy. Who knows. Rami was never one to ask, ever. In order to not continue staring at Ben nudging Rami, she looked at Dusty, who was still talking with the random man. "Two more minutes Dream or my head's on a chopping block."

"So…uh, how long does Paul make you stick around here for?" Rami asked, trying to sound nonchalant, like he was just making small talk.

"My day usually ends at around 4:30 or 5 when I'm here," she shrugged her shoulders. "I get a pretty good deal."

"Oh, that's cool…sometimes we stay here till the sun goes down," he laughed nervously. Eleanor noticed Ben trying to discreetly nudge Rami again. "What uh…what are you up to tonight?"

Eleanor paused. Although she considered herself friends with Rami and Ben, and other NXT talent, absolutely none of them had ever asked her to hang out outside of the Performance Centre before. The question threw her for a loop and she didn't quite know how to proceed.

The lack of response from Eleanor sent Rami into overdrive. He needed to reword what he just said. "Only because…well, Ben's organized for some of us to go to dinner tonight, and we've been meaning to ask you for a while, but every time we see you you're kind of running around like a chicken with its head cut off and we don't want to bother you so -"

"My cousin is in town from Newcastle," Ben interrupted Rami again, rolling his eyes at his rambling. "We just wanted to extend the invitation to you, Eleanor. I mean, you're allowed to hang out with us, right?"

"Of course I am," she said quickly, shooting down immediately the notion that just because she was Paul's executive assistant that she wasn't able to be friends with any talent. "And at any point, I would love to go out with you guys and get to know you guys more."

"So you'll come?" a hopeful Rami asked.

"Unfortunately, not tonight. I'm really sorry," she apologized. "I…I know it's really weird, and it probably sounds a bit ridiculous, but I've promised my nephew and nieces I would Skype with them tonight. They've been looking forward to it for _ages_."

"That doesn't sound ridiculous at all! That's adorable!" Rami smiled.

"Look at you, being such a good auntie," Ben commented.

"Yeah…so I'm really sorry. If I cancelled on them they'd be heartbroken. I don't think they'd speak to me again."

"That's alright love. There's no need to apologize when it comes to family," Ben said.

"But please let me know the next time you guys go out, or just do anything in general," she said, smiling at the two men. "I mean…it would be really great to know people in Orlando other than Paul...and Paul's not even here half the time."

"Will do," Ben said again, while Rami stayed grinning from ear to ear. "Here, let me give you my phone number, just in case you finish early and still want to be out and about. I'll text you where we are," he said. Eleanor agreed and handed her phone over to Ben, who punched in his number. Eleanor stuffed her phone back into her pocket. Before she could say anything else, Ben pointed behind Eleanor to a wandering Dusty Rhodes. "You better get him now before he wanders off into a park and starts to feed the pigeons."

Eleanor whipped her head around and saw Dusty about to walk through the wrong door into the wrong hallway. "Dusty, NO!" she shouted, running after him.


	2. Chapter 2

_January 20, 2015_

The next morning, Eleanor tried her best not to look like a walking zombie, but she wasn't in the mood to look as professional and presentable as she usually did. She had a morbid fear that Vince McMahon would pop into the Performance Centre at any given time and chastise her for not dressing like a professional, so she always wore nicer than normal, but still comfortable clothes, especially for an assistant. She never wore jeans to work – usually a pair of nice, black skinny trousers – but on this day she whipped on a pair of jeans faster than she could think twice about it. She buttoned up a nice top – one she would usually wear – and didn't bother doing anything with her hair instead of combing it and twisting it into a bun. Liquid liner, just like every other day? No chance. Her nieces and nephew had kept her awake until way past all their bedtimes, too excited to see her to let her sleep. They somehow managed to play board games online against each other and that kept them energy-filled for longer than Eleanor had anticipated. She enjoyed every minute of it, but knew it was going to cost her.

As she pulled in to park at the Performance Centre, she noticed Paul's car was already parked in its usual spot. Leave it to him to be an early bird – she was hoping to have gotten some things done before he arrived. She walked into his office and set her purse down at her desk – he was nowhere to be seen. She began going through what she had to do for the day, planning to immerse herself in work as usual.

"There you are," she heard suddenly, Paul walking in. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," she lied before standing up to read out to him his first duty of the day. "So, at nine you have a conference call with head office that's going to take place on Skype…Vince wants to talk about -"

"Wait a second…" Paul interrupted her, holding his hand up as she stood in front of him and he sat at his desk. "Eleanor…are you actually wearing jeans?"

Eleanor looked down at them. "Am I going to get fired?"

"I think this is the first time I've ever seen you in jeans at work," Paul commented. "I never thought I'd live to see the day. I figured Vince or Steph would have killed me by then."

Eleanor snorted at his comment. "Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything."

"You can wear jeans more often, you know."

"No chance," she quipped quickly. "I have a morbid fear that Vince is going to walk in here one day and fire me for not looking like a professional."

"Vince is a hard-ass, but he's not _that_ much of a hard-ass," Paul explained. "He means that with the performers, not the people behind the scenes."

"I'm not taking the chance," Eleanor said, to which Paul shook his head and laughed. "Not for my sake, Paul, but for yours. God knows what this place would get up to if I got fired and you were left to run it on your own. There'd be fires everywhere."

"You're probably right."

While Paul was in his Skype meeting with Vince – any meetings with Vince over a computer, really – he liked to be alone. It was during these times that Eleanor wandered through the Performance Centre, finding all it's hidden rooms, the massive gym, and any other little nook and cranny she could find. It was during these times that Eleanor would also just stand in the side of the room with the seven training rings and watch the athleticism around her, wishing she could jump off the top rope, run the ropes, and do backflips and other feats of strength. She wasn't unfit, but she'd never be as athletic as them. It amazed her to watch them do what they did day in, day out.

As she watched Sara Del Rey interact with one of the Divas in the ring, showing her how to perfect a submission hold, she heard a voice call her name from a distance. She looked to her right and saw Rami and Ben walking towards her.

"Hey! We missed you last night," Ben greeted her with a smile.

"Sorry. If it's any consolation know that I won three games of online crazy eights, but my nephew won like, ten," she said, to which the boys smiled. "And I watched my nieces perform a ballet routine they learned last week."

"That is too cute," Rami smiled.

"Any other Skype dates in the near future?" Ben asked.

"No."

"So then you're gonna come out with us on Saturday," Ben said.

"I am?"

"You are."

"Where?"

"Just at a restaurant again. My cousin's taking a trip to New Orleans for three days and he wants any excuse to celebrate leaving…even though he's coming back."

Eleanor thought about it for a moment. The invitation was harmless enough, just like the last one. She could tell that their invitation was genuine and that they really wanted her to attend.

"Alright, I'll come."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thank you for your positive reviews last chapter! This chapter is fairly short but the next ones are longer. Hope you all enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

_January 23, 2015_

Paul was muttering to himself around the office, picking up papers, taking a quick look at him, crumpling them violently in his hands, then throwing them out. Though this was nothing new to Eleanor, she threw him a skeptical look. She was used to it by now, but it still made her a bit worried. Paul somehow always knew when Eleanor was making a face at him. He looked at her looking at him. "Don't ask."

"Do you need some coffee?" she asked, the first thing that came to mind when she thought of ways to solve whatever his problem was.

"No," he shot down the suggestion quickly.

"Do you need me to leave the office?"

"I need you to tell my where the hell my phone is."

Eleanor called it from her own phone, and Paul's phone began ringing from his pocket. Paul didn't even have the thought to be embarrassed; he took his phone out of his pocket and placed it on his desk, where it would surely be lost again under stacks of papers in less than five minutes.

Eleanor watched him for a few moments before deciding to speak up again. "If you don't tell me what's wrong, I can't help you fix it."

Paul stopped his rummaging and looked at her. "Vince wants to 'pop by' sometime soon to check on things."

The mood immediately changed in the office with that announcement. "Shit…when?" Eleanor asked.

"He won't fucking tell me. Or else it wouldn't be a 'surprise'," Paul said, using air quotes. "I feel like he's trying to rain on my parade."

"He can rain on it all he wants, it won't change how amazing NXT has been since you took over," Eleanor tried to offer some words of encouragement. "Plus, I mean, he's in charge of Raw and Smackdown…and basically everything else. He can't just give you this?"

Paul shrugged his shoulders. "I know he won't take it away from me. But his suggestions are gonna make me bang my head against the wall. All it means is that I'll have to make sure everyone is at the top of their game for the next several weeks. And I'm gonna need your help."

Eleanor smiled. "You know I'll whip the boys into shape. Leave it to me."

XXXXX

Eleanor had no idea where she was going. Ben had texted her the name of some restaurant on Franklin Ave, but it didn't help than Franklin Ave was at least three miles long, and her GPS had led her the wrong way, so now she was being one of those drivers that other drivers hated; the ones that drive slow to look at all the store fronts so they could find where they were going. It was horrible. At least five people had honked at her within the last mile and she was just about ready to call it quits. Right as she was about to connect her Bluetooth and dial Ben's number, she spotted a familiar-looking beard waiting on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant – she knew it was Rami.

She pulled over as much as she could without crashing into the cars that were parked on the street. "Rami!" she yelled. His head whipped up from his phone immediately. "Where's some parking?"

"Just a block that way," he pointed. "You'll see the lot when you make a right. My car's there too."

Eleanor drove to where Rami had pointed and, lo and behold, there was one space left in the tiny lot. She paid the fee and began walking quickly towards the restaurant where Rami was waiting.

"I'm sorry I'm a bit late," she apologized as he noticed her approaching. "My GPS sent me on a wild goose chase. If you've heard people honking for the past five minutes that's been at me."

Rami smiled. "A wild goose chase? Nah, you're fine. Ben and his cousin aren't even here yet."

"Why didn't you guys all come together?"

Rami shrugged his shoulders. "We didn't think of that."

"Boys never think of those things."

The two made small-chat for a while, Rami asking where in town Eleanor was coming from, Eleanor asking how Rami compared the Performance Centre to other places he'd wrestled and trained in. Rami had a nice, easy-going, happy-go-lucky attitude that Eleanor appreciated.

"Is Ben always late?" Eleanor asked as Rami took out his phone.

"Is the sky blue?" he asked rhetorically, making Eleanor laugh. "That guy is gonna be late to his own wedding," he said, unlocking his phone. "Oh, wait…"

"Did he send a text?"

Rami read straight from his phone, "My wanker cousin pre-drank too much and is now vomiting the contents of his stomach. Won't be able to make it."

Eleanor frowned. "Well that sucks," she sighed. She was really looking forward to dinner. "Why would he pre-drink anyway?"

"They probably thought about heading out after dinner, but who knows," Rami answered.

There was an awkward silence between the two. Rami looked at Eleanor and knew he'd kick himself if he didn't take this opportunity. "You still hungry?"

"I'm getting to the point of hangry."

Rami smiled. "Something tells me I wouldn't like it if you get hangry. You wanna just…go for dinner?" he asked timidly.

Eleanor smiled and cocked her head to the side. She brought one hand up to her collarbone and flipped her hand in, feigning a Southern Belle. "Well, I thought you'd never ask."

Rami refused to have them eat in the pub ("The food is decent, but, like…we can do so much better," he reasoned) so they walked along Franklin Avenue until they found a food truck parked that made authentic Mexican tacos. Rami was surprised he didn't have to work hard to convince Eleanor to take some nachos and tacos to go, find a small city park, and eat on a bench. They ordered two of every taco on the small menu and some nachos to share before Google-mapping the nearest park.

"Definitely not the way I saw my night going, but amazing nonetheless," Rami smiled as they began opening the boxes of tacos between them. They were both sitting on the bench, facing each other, with the food boxes between them for easy access.

Eleanor took her first bite into the fish taco and groaned in appreciation. Rami laughed as he was still fiddling with his. "I swear, food out of a truck can beat filet mignon any day of the week."

"I take it's good."

"It's fucking delicious!"

"Yeah, people always underestimate food trucks and how good they can be," Rami lamented as he finally took a bite out of his first taco. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. "Holy crap that's good."

"You need to try this fish taco one, I'm telling you."

Rami bit into the fish taco one and groaned like Eleanor did. "I can't decide which one I like better!"

Eleanor snickered. "I think this truck might be my new favourite go-to comfort food…there's no shot in hell I'll be able to find any bagels down here as half-decent as the ones in Montreal."

Rami froze in his spot. He was midway-bringing-taco-to-his-mouth. Did she just say what he thought she said? "You're from Montreal?!"

"Born and bred."

Rami put the taco down. "You know I'm from Montreal, right?"

Eleanor's eyes went wide. "You _are_?!"

"I can't believe you're from Montreal!" Rami exclaimed.

"I can't believe I didn't _know_ you're from Montreal! This shit is, like, part of my job!"

"Wait," he regained his composure and become more serious for the moment. "There's only one question that matters." He paused for dramatic effect. "Do you like the Habs?"

Eleanor wanted to scream into the night air. "Is there _any other team_ besides the Habs that even _matters_?"

Rami had to take a moment to register the new information he learned. He couldn't believe he never heard about her being from Montreal. Certainly she didn't sound like a traditional Montrealer – she had no distinct French Canadian accent – but then again, neither did he. Nobody at NXT ever mentioned it, and he doubted many of the wrestlers knew.

Rami fist pumped into the air dramatically. "Another Montrealer!" he screamed.

"We exist!" she proclaimed after him, pumping her fist into the air too.

"Where did you grow up?" he asked.

"South end. What about you?"

"The north end," he said, taking another bite into his taco. "The better end," he antagonized her.

She played along, narrowing her eyes at his comment. "That's what you think."

As the duo continued to eat their tacos, they reminisced about growing up in Montreal, famous Montreal institutions, restaurants, cafes, hangouts, neighbourhoods, and their mutual love of the Montreal Canadiens. They had different favourites some of the time, but agreed on the important things: where to get the best bagels, poutine, and Montreal smoked meat sandwiches.

Rami patted his belly as the last of the tacos were consumed, watching Eleanor as she gulped the last contents of her can of iced tea. "That was probably one of the best meals I've had in a long time," he confessed.

"Me too," Eleanor agreed, starting to crush the Styrofoam containers and putting them back in the bag. "It's been a long time since I've had tacos in such good company," she smiled.

Rami smiled back widely at the compliment. "Thank you."

"You know, you guys can invite me out whenever," she began to say. A bout of shyness overtook her as she began to speak. She felt uncharacteristically comfortable with Rami – usually it took her much longer to open up to people. "Like…just because I'm Paul's assistant, it doesn't mean I can't go out or be friends with you guys."

Rami smiled at her. "I'll make sure to do that."


	4. Chapter 4

_February 9, 2015_

"This guacamole is to die for," Rami said with a mouth full of nachos, stuffing another one in his mouth. He hadn't even finished chewing the last nacho yet but he didn't care – he wanted as many nachos in his mouth as it could hold. "Honestly. To _die_ for."

"Thanks," Eleanor smiled shyly.

"Can you make this every movie night?" Ben asked, mimicking Rami and sticking a whole nacho in his mouth.

"Only for you two."

"No, what you need to do is make about 100 tons of it and feed it to me intravenously," Rami said.

Ben's eyebrows rose as high as they could go. "That is the greatest idea ever."

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh at the two men sitting at her kitchen peninsula. "I'll have to check if it fits with the Wellness Policy."

"Listen, if Paul tried this, he'd understand," Rami said.

It was Eleanor's turn to host movie night at her condo – a new 'tradition' now that she was friends with Rami and Ben, and now that Rami knew how many "freakin' awesome" movies Ben had never seen. She had been to Rami's apartment for such occasions, as well as Ben's, and now she had to host. She didn't think her finger food would be as much of a hit with them as it was, but lo and behold, they hadn't even picked a movie yet because the boys were scarfing down everything she'd laid out, including the popcorn and most of the contents of the candy bowl.

So far they had watched a slew of movies that Rami designated as "freakin' amazing" that Ben had never seen: Wayne's World, The Breakfast Club, and The Mask. Eleanor had no idea what they would want to watch next, but she hoped there was something they could watch in her DVD collection. Most of her DVDs were still at home in Montreal. They tended to gravitate towards comedies, for obvious reasons – they were much more enjoyable to watch.

"Okay, boys!" Eleanor smacked her hands against the countertop, getting their attention in the only way she could think. "What movie are we going to watch?"

"What do you have, love?" Ben asked.

"Let me go get my DVD box," she said, running into her room and grabbing the small storage box with her favourite DVDs. She plotted it down on the counter and both Rami and Ben started rummaging through it. "If all else fails we can always just stream or download something from -"

"PLASTICS!" Rami yelled, holding up the digitally re-mastered version of 'The Graduate', starring Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross. He turned towards Ben. "Plastics?" he asked as if he was asking him 'Have you seen this movie?'

Ben hesitated. "…Plastics?" he asked back in a confused voice.

Rami slammed the DVD case down on the counter in rage and Eleanor slammed her hands on the counter again. "You've never seen The Graduate?!" they both asked in unison.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Well, I know what we're watching tonight then."

"How have you _never_ seen The Graduate?" Eleanor pestered Ben. "The Graduate is…The Graduate! It's law that you have to watch The Graduate!"

"Not in England."

Rami picked up the tray of nachos and guacamole and set it down on the coffee table while Eleanor prepared the TV and DVD. Ben took the single couch chair, leaving Rami and Eleanor to share the loveseat.

"What's this movie about, anyway?" Ben asked.

"Life," was Eleanor's simple response.

"Ha-ha," Ben laughed sarcastically. "Really, what is it about?"

"She's right," Rami defended Eleanor. "Just watch and you'll see."

The opening credits soon began, much to the delight of Eleanor. She had watched 'The Graduate' more times than she could count or remember, but each time she did, she found something new to love about the movie. She saw that Rami had moved the nachos and guacamole onto his lap and shuffled closer to him so she could get access. He looked surprised for a moment but then smiled at Eleanor and shuffled closer to her. She readjusted her position so that her knees were to her chest; she wasn't quite leaning into him, but her feet were halfway underneath his thighs, to keep them warm.

"You don't mind, do you?" she whispered.

"Not at all," he said.

XXXXX

On screen, Dustin Hoffman was running after his car had broken down, desperate to get to Elaine before she married Carl. Rami always thought that when Dustin was running he looked like a dog paddling in water. In reality, Rami hadn't been paying attention for about the last third of the movie, ever since Eleanor had swooned over something Hoffman's character, Benjamin, had said to Ross's character, Elaine, and laid her head to rest on his arm. He had noticed that Ben fell asleep long ago, and wasn't sure if Eleanor noticed, so, really, it was just them. The tenderness of the position they were in was almost too much to bear for Rami.

As Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" began to play, Rami felt Eleanor exhale considerably. In the movie, Elaine looks at Benjamin to see if he has a similar expression as hers after they have just run away from her wedding, but he doesn't look back at her.

Eleanor looked at Rami, and he was already looking at her. She smiled meekly at him, feeling the effects of the affectionate position they were in. "This movie breaks my heart, but it's my favourite of all time," she told him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Why?" he asked, leaning into her more.

Eleanor couldn't quite put into words why. She had tried to rationalize it to herself before, even tried to write it down like an essay so she could memorize it and spew it off word-for-word whenever anybody asked her. All attempts proved to be unsuccessful. "I don't know," she said honestly, looking down and playing with her fingernails. "It's the uncertainty. The impulsive decisions made out of love…the fact that they have no idea what to say to each other…that look on their faces is just so haunting. They're so ill prepared for what lies ahead, and they realize it in that moment on the bus…they're not as confident as they were five minutes ago. They're scared half to death about what lies ahead. And like…are they going to end up like their parents because of their decision? It just…it's a metaphor for my life, really."

Rami smiled gently at Eleanor's explanation. He could tell she was nervous by the way she was picking at her fingernails, bearing some of her soul to him, so he remained as quiet as he could be.

Eleanor leaned back so she was lying down on her couch. Rami didn't know what possessed him, but he immediately followed, lying beside her and propping his head up on his hand so he could look down at her. Although he was a 6'1" wrestler, he tried to make his body not too dominating on the couch.

"Rami?"

"Yeah?"

"You…you can touch me, you know."

Rami was slightly embarrassed. "I just…I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Believe me, you won't," Eleanor said.

Rami draped his right arm over Eleanor. Her fingertips dragged over his skin. "How is Benjamin going to handle a marriage if the movie is his reaction to graduating college?" she asked.

Rami couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "I don't know."

Eleanor turned her body slightly so she was facing towards him more. "I was never good with answering that…that 'what now?' question. Especially with my parents."

"I wasn't either," Rami admitted.

"I'm guessing they didn't want you to be a wrestler," Eleanor said.

"My mom's exact words were, 'Enough of your dreams, get ready to go back to school.' But I get it – my career choice was completely unconventional, especially for a child of immigrants. I understand why they would want me to get an office job…be an accountant or an engineer or something. My brothers listened to an extent but I wanted something more."

"Where did your parents immigrate from?"

"Syria. In the seventies."

Eleanor looked down in shame. Her situation wasn't nearly as precarious as Rami's – it's not like she ran off to be a wrestler. "When I was a teenager my main goal in life was not to end up like my parents…I think I've succeeded working for WWE."

"Same story?" he asked.

"No. My parents are French-Canadian…have been for generations," she stopped there. She didn't want to reveal too much; not now, not yet. "But it's the same story in that they wanted me to go into business or law or something. Something I never had interest in. And I don't think they liked me moving out of Montreal either," she confessed. "But I made decisions in my younger years based solely on the fact that they were the opposite of what my parents wanted me to do, so that I wouldn't end up like them. Like Benjamin and Elaine."

"Is your relationship with your family okay?" he asked in a concerned voice.

"It's much better now. As time went on I realized they just want whatever makes me happy. We've always been really close, and we weren't for a while, but it got better and we're back to that closeness now."

"Good," Rami nodded, relieved. For a brief moment he concentrated on the feeling of Eleanor's fingertips gliding along his skin, and it in that moment, it was one of the best feelings he'd ever experienced.

Eleanor focused on Rami for a few seconds, noticing him watching her fingers move up and down his arm. There was a spirit of kindheartedness to his face and his general demeanour that made her so relaxed and comfortable around him. "Can I show you something?" she whispered.

Rami looked at her immediately when he heard her voice. "Of course you can."

She sat up from her position on the couch and stood, adjusting her clothes while Rami did the same. Before he was finished she grabbed his arm and led him across her apartment to the second bedroom. Opening the door, instead of finding a nice bed, chest of drawers, and vanity, Rami was greeted with an easel with a half-painted canvas. There were painted canvasses all around the room of varying sizes, the biggest one being at least the size of Eleanor. Most were paintings of still life – bottles and fruit on tables – others were of bouquets or single flowers in vases, and more were portraits of people. To Sami's amazement, he spotted a few that were even hockey themed; he could point out a Canadiens jersey from a crowd of a million people.

She watched him as he looked at his surroundings. He seemed to be overwhelmed by the amount of paintings but the look of astonishment on his face told her he liked what he saw. "These are incredible," he muttered to himself. "Unbelievable."

"Nobody in my family had time for art," she said timidly, getting Rami's attention again. "I mean, it's not like they discouraged me from doing it or anything, but they thought I should focus my time and attention on something more serious…something that could get me a real job," she air-quoted around real job.

"Don't I know the feeling," Rami smiled, trying to get Eleanor to feel more comfortable, and to open up more. "What made them change their mind?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure most of them have fully changed their mind…" Eleanor thought out loud, bringing her hand up to her face to bite the nail on her thumb. Rami took the two steps towards and raised his hand, pushing hers down, away from her mouth so she wouldn't bite her fingernail. Eleanor felt him hold her hand. "I guess they started to come around when I found a buyer for one and it sold for money. Real, actual money."

Rami smiled at her revelation. "Yeah, that'll do it."

"So I guess ever since then they've kind of just…been silent about it…allowed me to do it. I mean of course it's not a steady source of income or anything like that but it's nice…uh, extra money to save," she said.

"Well, if what I think means anything, I think they're amazing. And I think if this is what you really love to do then you should continue doing it, regardless of what your family thinks or doesn't think about it."

"Thanks, Rami."

"I mean it. A million people would kill for this talent, including me."

Eleanor looked down bashfully in reaction to his words. Everything he said was so sincere – it was a world away from what she grew up with and what she was used to being surrounded by. Actual words of encouragement – not _'Good job'_ or _'That's nice'_ comments thinly veiled as _'Be serious, Eleanor'_.

She squeezed his hand and began to walk out of the room, dragging him along with her. As she shut the door, she turned around and put her index finger on her lips, telling him without words that he wasn't to tell anyone. He repeated the gesture to her before she grabbed his hand again and led him back to the couch. They lay down together and resumed their previous position.

For a brief moment Eleanor shifted her focus to Ben sleeping on the couch. She wondered if she should wake him up and let him sleep somewhere more comfortable. "He's out cold," Rami said, noticing where she had her focus.

She looked back towards Rami and turned even more towards him. "Rami…will you stay?"

Rami's breath caught in his throat. "I wasn't planning on leaving."

XXXXX

Ben could feel the sun on his face, which he didn't particularly like. He wondered why his curtains were open and the sun streaming into his room – that is until he opened his eyes and did not recognize his surroundings. A wall unit with a TV way too small for his taste; a coffee table that sat higher than his. He saw an opened DVD box and remembered that he had been at Eleanor's condo the previous night for movie night. They had started some movie about some college guy having an affair with an older lady, but that's about all he remembered. Was he still at her condo?

He tried to crane his neck to look around the room, but it was stiff from sleeping in an awkward position. He rubbed it and stretched it as best he could. To his right was the kitchen – nothing there. He looked to his left, and a smile crept onto his face.

Rami and Eleanor were sleeping together on the couch. Eleanor had tried her best to snuggle next to Rami – at least it seemed like it – and had her arm covering his, which was draped over her body. Her head was near his neck, and their legs were intertwined.

Ben grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and put it on silent, so the sound of the shutter wouldn't wake them. He took a quick picture or two, and laughed to himself. That would definitely be used as friendly blackmail later, if he ever needed Rami to do anything for him.


	5. Chapter 5

_I just want to thank everybody for their follows and especially for the reviews! I really appreciate you all taking the time to write some positive words. Please keep them coming! I feed off of reviews :P Hope you all enjoy the latest installment!_

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 _February 27, 2015_

By all accounts, Wednesday should have been a completely normal day. Eleanor had woken up at her normal time, didn't forget anything at her condo, had no traffic driving to the Performance Centre, and even got a call from her older brother on the way. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary – absolutely nothing that would cause her to stress or freak out.

Eleanor almost always arrived at the Performance Centre before Paul – it was just the nature of her job. She usually got the day started in his office; setting up for potential meetings, organizing schedules and/or appearances, gathering documents to help progress storylines. When she walked into the Performance Centre, she greeted one of the 24-hour security guards, Tommy, and proceeded to walk to her office. When she walked in, she set her purse and tote bag down on her desk. She heard some shuffling from the meeting room that connected Paul's office with Dusty Rhodes' office and immediately stood stiff and upright out of fear. A door opened and none other than Vince McMahon swung through the door.

"This meeting room attached to the office is kind of neat," he said to no one in particular. He saw Eleanor standing in the middle of the room. "Hello."

"Hi Mr. McMahon," Eleanor greeted him in the strongest voice she could muster. Her insides were screaming. She wanted to run.

"I'm sorry, your name is?"

"My name is Eleanor Desjardins," she introduced herself, walking towards him and shaking his hand. "I am your son in law's executive assistant for when he is here in Orlando...and I travel with him sometimes for Raw as well."

Vince looked at her a bit skeptically. "Executive assistant? Does my daughter know Paul has an executive assistant in Orlando?" he asked.

"I worked for Stephanie before she transferred me to work for Paul," she said in a deadpan voice, completely shutting out any possibility of an affair or inappropriate relationship that Vince may have been concocting in his head.

It seemed like a light bulb went off in Vince's head. " _You're_ the young lady who my daughter would rave about! She said you made her life so easy."

Eleanor smiled and shrugged her shoulders modestly. "That's me, I guess."

"You'll have to forgive me. In my old age I forget names easily and can't remember faces," Vince apologized.

"Don't worry Mr. McMahon, I completely understand," Eleanor smiled. "You have so many employees you need to keep track of, I understand if someone like me isn't at the top of your radar." She took a few steps backwards and picked up the phone on her desk. "Would you like me to call Paul for you?" she asked.

"Oh, no no no," he said, waving his hand – his way of telling her to put the phone down. "I'd rather he come in on his own time. I need to keep an element of surprise."

Eleanor smiled awkwardly as she hung up the phone. She noticed Vince looking around the office, at her tote bag on her chair filled with document holders and her laptop. "So, Eleanor…take me through the Performance Centre, will you?" he posed it as a question, but it was more of a demand.

"You…you want me to take you through the Performance Centre?" she asked, scared out of her mind.

"I thought you'd never ask," he said slyly, moving towards the door to start the journey. Eleanor gulped and walked towards him, wondering what she could have done in her life to deserve this.

XXXXX

Eleanor was going to kill Paul. Out of all mornings he could be late, he decided on this one: the one where _she_ was chaperoning Vince McMahon around the Performance Centre, showing him the day-to-day work the superstars and athletes were putting in to their training. It had been an hour and a half since she first encountered him in Paul's office, and they were only now going to see the area with the rings.

"As many people like to say here – this is where the magic happens," she said cheekily, before opening the doors to the seven rings. Vince smiled proudly as he saw each ring being used. Eleanor hoped someone would show up and take Vince away from her so she could breathe for the first time in an hour and a half. They walked through the room, Vince stopping at each ring to see what was going on. Most superstars stopped their in-ring work to greet him, but Vince didn't want to make his walk-through a big deal, so he only quickly greeted them before telling them to get back to work so he could see what they were working on. News traveled fast, Eleanor assumed, as everybody was actually practicing, and not dicking around. They approached the ring where Rami and Fergal were tossing each other around.

Ever since it happened, Rami couldn't stop thinking about the movie night at Eleanor's condo, and it had nothing to do with the guacamole. They had fallen asleep on the couch together after some more talking and it was blissful. It didn't even matter that he had been cramped on a small loveseat with a fraction of the room he was used to having in his own bed – the sleep was one of the best he'd had in a long time. The only downside was that Ben had woken them up when he'd dropped the showerhead and screamed from the washroom.

They had driven home together and Ben demanded answers but Rami didn't give them. He simply told Ben that they had finished watching the movie and were talking for a while after. When Ben asked for more details, Rami wouldn't give them. Ben asked if there was any "wink wink, nudge nudge" and Rami punched him in the arm.

That was nearly three weeks ago. Since then they had obviously maintained their friendship. There were two more movie nights, both at Fergal's apartment, but to Rami's dismay everybody had stayed awake both times, so he and Eleanor didn't exactly have a repeat experience. Ben demanded multiple times, "Just talk to her, for the love of God," to which Rami would always reply, "We _have_ talked," but that wasn't exactly true. Of course, they had talked – they worked together, after all – but they hadn't talked about the events of that night, and what exactly it meant, and if the other actually felt anything, and was Rami thinking about this too much?, and if Eleanor was thinking about it as much as him?, and if…

The moment Rami saw Eleanor he stopped dead in his tracks – holding whichever submission move he was holding – and noticed the look of pure fear on her face. He noticed Vince soon after. Both he and Fergal immediately stopped their training to greet the two.

"It's nice to see you two," Vince shook their hands. "Paul tells me a lot about you two. Says you both have enormous potential."

Both Rami and Fergal looked flabbergasted. "Thank you, Mr. McMahon," Fergal said. "Paul's got us working very hard here."

"I can see that," Vince said, taking a look around.

"Hey daddy, why don't you get in that ring and show the kids who's boss?" the distinctive voice of Dusty Rhodes crept up behind Eleanor and Vince.

Vince had a giant smile on his face as he turned around to greet Dusty, hugging him. Eleanor prayed for Dusty to take Vince away. Anywhere. She shot Dusty a pleading look, which Rami and Fergal saw. "Dream, have _you_ met Paul's assistant, Eleanor?" Vince asked innocently, motioning towards her.

Dusty laughed. "Met her? Daddy, this boss lady runs everything around here without the fancy title. She screws on Paul's head in the morning."

Eleanor laughed nervously, noticing Vince looking at her with an impressed face. "Oh Dream, you're being too kind," she tried to play it off, desperate for the attention to be off her.

"He's right, Mr. McMahon," Rami piped up. "She's excellent. Paul wouldn't be able to do it without her."

Eleanor looked at Rami who was smiling at her, completely oblivious to – or just not caring about – how nervous she was. She deeply appreciated Rami's sentiment; she just couldn't take compliments in stride. Especially in front of Vince McMahon.

"Everybody seems to be singing your praises Eleanor," Vince said. He looked between her and Dusty. "I'm sure you have a lot of work to do – I'll let you get back to it while Dusty and I have a chat about things."

Relieved couldn't describe the feeling that washed over Eleanor. She tried to remain as professional as possible, but truth be told, it felt like Eleanor had just had the weight of the Big Show taken off her shoulders. "Thank you Mr. McMahon, and it was so nice to finally meet you and spend some time with you," she said politely.

"Likewise," he said, finally allowing her to leave. He then turned his attention to Rami and Fergal. "You two, get back to training."

They didn't have to be told twice. They got back into the ring and began stretching again as they watched Vince and Dusty walk out of the ring area. Rami's eyes wandered the room until his eyes fell on Eleanor, who seemed to be sneaking in to one of the unused medical rooms. Fergal watched as Rami's eyes followed Eleanor through the room, and he could tell by Rami's furrowed eyebrows that if they began training again, he would not be giving it 100%.

"Go," was all he said to Rami, and he immediately slipped out of the ring to follow Eleanor.

XXXXX

"Eleanor?" Rami asked quietly, knocking on the door he saw her go through. He opened it slowly without waiting for an answer, seeing her hunched over and hearing her breathe heavily.

Eleanor looked behind her to see Rami at the door. She didn't answer him because she wanted to get her breathing under control. She turned away, embarrassed.

"Hey," she heard him say with a concerned voice. The door clicked shut and he was immediately close to her, rubbing her back. "Are you alright?"

"I just need to calm down," she said, breathing in and out again. She eyed Rami, who looked genuinely worried. "I didn't know Vince was going to be here today. I don't think anybody did. I wasn't exactly expecting to spend an hour and a half with him this morning, asking me all sorts of questions."

"I'm sure you did amazing," Rami said, trying to calm her down. He kept rubbing her back and he liked to think that was making a difference. "And I mean, Dream just sang your praises out there."

Eleanor sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. Rami followed suit, on his knees in front of her so he was just about t eye level with her. She took a few more deep breaths in and out, and Rami waited patiently for her to talk to him. He knew, deep down, she would.

Eleanor looked Rami in the eye and knew he deserved an explanation. He had been so good to her the last few months, and they had become considerably close. She knew he would be understanding. "This isn't just some job to me. It's really important," was all she could say. "I don't take this job lightly. I know that I'm not saving the world or anything but it means something to me."

Rami nodded his head in understanding. "I know, Eleanor. I think everybody can see your passion for this job."

"You probably think I'm some crazy fool," she tried to joke, leaning forward and resting her head on Rami's chest.

"I do not," he opposed firmly, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her. "You're passionate Eleanor. That's a good thing, you know."

Eleanor brought her hands up and placed them on Rami's arms, pulling her head away from his chest. She looked up at him slightly, grateful for his presence. "Thank you," she said silently.

Eleanor was somewhat anticipating what happened next. Truth be told, it had been going on for weeks – ever since the movie night at her condo. She saw in Rami's eyes the quick contemplation before he did as she thought – and hoped – he would.

He kissed her.

His lips were soft, like she imagined they would be, and his beard tickled her face. It was gentle at first, like Rami was apprehensive, like he didn't want to scare her or make her feel uncomfortable. She slid her hands from his arms to his neck to bring him closer.

Their moment was interrupted by the loud buzzing of Eleanor's phone in her pocket against the floor. It startled both of them, ending the kiss on the first buzz, not expecting it to be so loud. Eleanor shimmied to get the phone out of her pocket and answered it. "Hello?" she asked.

"Where are you?" Paul asked on the other end.

"Around."

"I have Vince here asking about you," he said.

"Of course he is," Eleanor bowed her head. She hadn't looked at Rami. "I'll be there in a minute."

Paul hung up the phone without another word. She finally looked at Rami, who seemed like he was in his own world. "I have to go."

He didn't want her to leave, but he nodded his head. "Go."

"I'm sorry," she apologized, cupping his face quickly with her hand, getting a handful of beard. He placed her hand over his quickly.

"Don't apologize," he whispered.

"I – I'll talk to you later," they both stood from their positions on the floor. She smoothed her pants and adjusted her top before walking out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

_As always, thanks again for the reviews, follows, and favourites! Hope you enjoy this chapter…_

 _XXXXXXXXXX_

 _March 3, 2015_

When Eleanor's phone rang and she saw the face of her brother, Jean-Philippe, appear on the screen, she was definitely surprised. Usually, she was the one to call him – not the other way around. They were relatively close, as close as siblings who lived apart could be. When they were growing up they were inseparable, and Eleanor looked back on that period with fond memories.

Jean-Philippe was five years older than Eleanor. For as long as she could remember, he was always the serious one, the one her parents never had to worry about because they knew he would never get into any trouble – and they were right. When a lot of his friends were speeding their parents' cars down the street or getting into fights during their hockey games, Jean-Philippe was always levelheaded, never engaging in such behaviour. Everybody would always comment on his seriousness, but he never changed. Eleanor always knew he would be successful because he was always so focused on that "what next?" question she had a harder time answering.

Jean-Philippe got into the family business with her dad, like Eleanor always knew he would. In the end, she knew that's what he wanted. He'd known his now-wife, Margot, since they were both eleven years old. She was around often, so Eleanor felt like Margot was an older sister more than a sister-in-law. Sometimes Margot and Eleanor got along better than Eleanor and Jean-Philippe did, which amused her. They had three kids: Henri-Mathieu, who was seven, and twin girls Elodie and Rosaline, who were five.

"Is everything okay?" Eleanor asked as soon as she picked up the phone.

"Of course everything is okay. Why wouldn't things be okay?" he asked.

"You don't exactly take the initiative to call me. I'm usually the one doing the calling," she said.

"Yeah, I know. But on my drive home from work I felt like I hadn't talked to you in _weeks_ …like we've had chats but nothing of length," he explained.

"You mean nothing you can tell mom and dad about," she clarified.

"No. I don't tell mom and dad about our conversations. I never have and I never will," Jean-Philippe said sternly.

"I only half believe you. How are mom and dad anyway?"

"Same old. Dad is still dad…you know. Mom is being mom. She went to Toronto last week for someone's event. Can't remember who. Did you get the email about the event this weekend?" he asked.

"Yeah," Eleanor sighed. "I'm guessing she expects me to be there."

"Well, she's merging it with dad's birthday weekend. Of course she expects you to be there."

"What?!" Eleanor exclaimed, checking her calendar. She slapped her hand to her forehead. "Oh my God, dad's birthday is next Wednesday. Shit. Okay."

"Are you going to be able to get it off work?" Jean-Philippe asked.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," she immediately wrote herself a reminder on a Post-It note to ask Paul for the weekend off. "It's family stuff and it's the weekend – they'd be pretty cold-hearted to not give it to me."

"How is work, then?" he asked.

"It's good," Eleanor's mood lightened.

"Are you seeing anyone?" Jean-Philippe asked suddenly.

The question threw Eleanor off guard. "Uh, no," she said awkwardly.

" _Tabernac_ , who?!" Jean-Philippe exclaimed, swearing.

"It's no-one, really -" Eleanor tried to cover.

"Eleanor Louise, as your older brother I demand to know."

"Please, Jean-Philippe. It's nothing serious."

"Is it a wrestler?"

"…No."

" _Tabernaaaaac_ , Eleanor!"

"You know, if you were on speaker phone and he was here, he'd understand you. He's from Montreal too."

" _Eleanor_!"

"Can you stop?" she asked, becoming slightly annoyed. "It's not that big of a deal. We've become really good friends over the past few months but I think he's gonna get called up to the main roster soon, and after that he'll forget all about me."

"I highly doubt that," Jean-Philippe said. "You underestimate how unforgettable you are."

Eleanor blushed at her brother's compliment. "Seriously, stop."

"Where did he grow up?"

"The north end."

"Does he know about…like, the family?" he asked apprehensively.

"No. I haven't told him yet."

"Don't you think you should maybe tell him?"

"When the time comes, I will," Eleanor said, seeing the door of Paul's office swing open, Fergal walking through it. "Hold on a sec," she told her brother quickly, taking the phone off her ear, giving her attention to Fergal.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but uh…you might want to come see Rami with me," he said.

Eleanor immediately went into alert mode. "What happened?"

"I mean, he's fine! Don't get freaked out or anything. He just took a bad fall training and he's being checked right now…"

Eleanor got back on the phone with her brother. "JP, I have to go."

"What?! No! Eleanor! I need to know more!"

"I'm gonna have to call you back," she said, hanging up the phone and bolting out of her seat.

She began to follow Fergal thorough the Performance Centre, her thoughts running wild about what happened and how badly Rami may have been hurt. "What happened? How could he have hurt himself? He's so careful in the ring!" she asked, becoming somewhat emotional.

"He was showing someone how to do a new move, and he landed awkwardly and started complaining about a slight pain in his neck. It's nothing serious at all but the doctor's don't want to take any chances, you know?" Fergal explained.

Eleanor shook her head in disapproval. "I can't believe it. He better be okay," she said.

"He will be," Fergal said, pointing to the room he was in. He stood back, having visited Rami before once he saw what happened. Rami didn't need to see him again.

Eleanor didn't hold back as she opened the door, walking straight in, not caring who was in the room. Rami was sitting on sitting on a gurney, wearing track shorts and his 'Trailer Park Boys' t-shirt being inspected by one of the doctors, Paul in the room making sure one of his top stars was okay. "What happened?" she demanded.

Paul was slightly taken aback by her question, confused about why she would be so worried, but it was neither the time, nor place, to ask questions. He would figure it out sooner or later. "He just took an awkward fall, that's all," he answered.

"Are you injured? Does it tingle? Do you feel numbness in your arms or hands?" she kept asking questions.

The doctor laughed. "Shouldn't I be asking those questions? Besides, Rami's stronger than that," he patted Rami on the shoulder. Eleanor stood with her arms crossed, a worried look on her face the entire time, as the doctor asked Rami questions and worked on his neck. Rami looked at her for almost the whole duration of the inspection.

Finally, the doctor smiled. "Nothing to worry about here. Rami – you might just want to take it easy tonight. No strain on your neck tonight, okay? Should be as good as new tomorrow morning."

"Gotcha, doc," Rami nodded. Paul sighed in relief and patted Rami on the back before leaving the room. He took one last look inside the room, at Rami and Eleanor, before leaving.

The doctor was taking an unusual amount of time to leave. Rami still sat on the gurney; Eleanor was waiting impatiently for the doctor to leave. He looked at the two before feeling the awkwardness set in. "I'll uh – I'll leave now."

Rami smiled shyly, bowing his head slightly as the doctor left the room. He focused his attention on Eleanor, who had stepped closer to him. "You don't need to worry, Elle," he assured her.

She grabbed his head in her hands and kissed him, still apprehensive about his declarations of feeling okay. He pulled her towards him softly by her thighs, where his hands gravitated to, by his position sitting on the gurney and her position standing in front of him.

She was the first to pull away. Their faces were still close together as Eleanor closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry. I can't help but worry," she whispered.

Rami kissed her again, moving his hands so that they grabbed hers and held on to them. He pulled away. "Our romantic liaisons need to stop happening in medical rooms," he smiled.

Eleanor smiled as her thumbs rubbed against Rami's backhands. "You're right."

After a moment of silence, the words escaped Eleanor's mouth before her brain told her to stop. "Are we gonna do this?"

"Yeah," Rami answered immediately, smiling at the way she worded her proposal.

Eleanor smiled. "Good."

Rami repeated her sentiment. "Good."

"You can't make me worry like this all the time though, Samsquanch," she said.

Rami looked at her, astounded. "Did you just call me Samsquanch?"

"You're wearing a Trailer Park Boys t-shirt. I would hope you know what it is," she reasoned.

"I _know_ what a Samsquanch is, my God," he said. "I just can't believe _you_ know what it is. I can't believe you watch it."

"It's a Canadian staple," she shrugged her shoulders. "Plus is goes with Sami."

"But not Rami."

"Doesn't matter. You're Samsquanch now," she smiled.

Rami pulled her in close again and kissed her. They didn't kiss for _too_ long, taking breaks to look at each other before smiling again and resuming kissing. They were in their own blissful state before the door opened and they heard Fergal's Irish accent, "So what's the diagnosis?"

They pulled apart quickly, but Rami was still holding Eleanor's hands in his, and it was undeniable what they had just been up to. Fergal let out a little giggle. "Sorry…I'll – I'll see you on the other side," he said, closing the door.

Fergal stood outside, laughing to himself, shaking his head.


	7. Chapter 7

_As always, thank you for the reviews! They really mean a lot to me, so please – if you are reading this story, leave a review! I hope you all enjoy this chapter; some more information is revealed about Eleanor's family!_

 _xxxxxxxxxx_

 _March 11, 2015_

Eleanor could get used to make-out sessions on Rami's couch. Sometimes it would happen before they would go out; sometimes it would happen as Eleanor would cook for Rami or vice versa, and something would burn; sometimes they would barely finish dinner before going at it. His lips felt divine against hers, and when they would travel on to her neck or anywhere else she felt like she was in another world. She felt like a teenager again, always going at it with her boyfriend.

For a while after, Eleanor had been sitting on Rami's lap, hands on either side of his face as she ran her thumbs over his lips delicately. Her own lips were red from so much kissing but she would continue to plant light, fluttering kisses on his lips every so often as she caught her breath. His hands rest on her thighs and every so often he would run them up and down or move them to grab on to her hips.

"You have to tell me about Montreal," he said as his hands wandered up and down her thighs. "How was the city? And how was your dad's birthday?"

Eleanor half-smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "It was good."

Rami waited for more, but by the look of things he wasn't going to get anything out of her unless he asked. "Okay…so tell me about the party," he said. "Did you guys have it at home?"

"No," she shook her head. "We uh…we had it at the Ritz-Carlton downtown."

"Oooooh, fancy," he smiled. "Was it a milestone birthday for him for you guys to spend that much money?"

"No. We always have parties there," she said, wishing Rami would drop it. She bowed her head to stop looking at him, hoping he would take the hint.

He looked at her skeptically, wondering why she wasn't elaborating. Had he done something wrong? Should he have never brought it up? He grabbed her chin and moved her head to look at him again. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"What? Of course not."

"Well…why aren't you saying anything? Why aren't you telling me about your family?" he asked.

Eleanor sighed. She knew it had to come out now. She began biting the fingernail on her thumb. "Rami…remember when I said I grew up in south Montreal?"

"Yeah."

"I kind of lied…" she confessed.

Rami's eyebrows rose, and Eleanor could tell his thoughts were running rampant. "Okay…"

"I grew up in Westmount."

Rami furrowed his eyebrows. "Westmount is in south Montreal," Rami said slowly, enunciating his words clearly, using the same tone someone would use on someone they considered the stupidest person on the planet.

"No…Rami…I grew up in _Westmount_ ," she stressed.

"Oh… _oh_ ," he said, somewhat realizing what she was trying to tell him. "So you grew up like…rich," he said.

"You could say that," she muttered under her breath.

"That's cool," he said, shrugging it off. "So that's why you haven't tried a lot of smoked meat places on the north side then," he smiled.

Eleanor didn't want to joke. This chat wasn't going to be funny for her, and she was already very uncomfortable that he took the revelation so lightly. She climbed off his lap but faced him on the couch as she brought her knees up to her chest. She bit her lip, unsure if she should ask the next question. "Do you know Charles Desjardins?"

Rami nodded his head. "Of course I know Charles Desjardins. The Desjardins are the longest season ticket holding family in Habs history. Isn't he a billionaire or something? He donates a whole bunch of money all the time everywhere in Montreal. Financed the new wing at the Montreal General Hospital too, right?"

Eleanor looked at him, and he looked back. He still didn't get it. "What does Charles Desjardins have to do with any of this?" he asked. She kept looking at him in silence until it finally hit him. "Don't…don't tell me you're his daughter."

"Well, we do have the same last name…" she said with a heavy tone of sarcasm.

"Your _dad_ is _Charles Desjardins?!_ " he exclaimed.

She nodded her head.

"So you have Habs season tickets?!" he asked, exasperated. The only thing that mattered to him was the revelation about the Montreal Canadiens. Everything else was secondary – everything else didn't matter.

Eleanor felt a tsunami of uneasiness hit her. Rami was way too cool about this. He said 'billionaire' like it was an everyday word to him – like _he_ was the one who grew up around them, had them babysit him, had them invite him to parties, trying to set him up with their eligible offspring. He clearly knew of her dad's happenings throughout Montreal, and she wasn't sure what that meant for them now. "Rami, this is serious! This…this is a big deal," she said, grabbing her phone out of her pocket.

"Really? Is it really that serious?" he countered.

"I have my own _Wikipedia_ page, for heaven's sake. So do other members of my family. It's not some joke," she tried to reason with him, shoving her phone in his face. She had typed in her name and the first link that came up was the page. Whoever managed to write it or contribute to it deserved some sort of medal, because she didn't think she was in need of one.

Rami grabbed the phone from her hands and began reading the entry. It wasn't extremely long, but it hit all the points Rami – or anybody – needed to know about her life, if they were that curious.

 _Eleanor Louise Desjardins (born December 31, 1985) is a French-Canadian socialite based in Montreal, Canada._

 _ **Family**_

 _Her father is businessman Charles Etienne Desjardins, a member of the prominent and influential Desjardins family. Her mother is Catherine Desjardins (nee Catherine Francoise Montmorency), a French-Canadian socialite and descendent of the Montmorency banking family of Montreal. Desjardins and Montmorency met while growing up in Montreal. Their marriage was a momentous occasion for Canadian society, as two members from two of the country's oldest families were uniting. They were wed in Montreal's Notre Dame Basilica, where many members of both families had wed in previous generations._

 _Eleanor is the younger of the two Desjardins children. She has an older brother, Jean-Philippe, five years her senior. Jean-Philippe followed in his father's footsteps and runs the Desjardins family business alongside his father. He married French-Canadian constitutional lawyer Margot Lafleur and together they have a son, Henri-Mathieu, seven, and twin daughters, Elodie and Rosaline, five._

 _The Desjardins family is also the longest season ticket holding family in Montreal Canadiens and NHL history. The family are staunch supporters of the team and attend all home games. A portrait of Etienne Mathieu Desjardins, who was an investor in the Montreal Canadiens and saved the team from bankruptcy and moving to Cleveland, Ohio during the Great Depression, hangs in the Bell Centre._

 _ **Early Years**_

 _Eleanor was born in Montreal, and grew up in Westmount, Quebec, in the Desjardins family's ancestral home. She attended the exclusive Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School in Westmount, where the female members of her father's family had been educated for generations. She graduated at the top of her class. Desjardins attended Dawson College for her CEGEP studies. She attended McGill University (alma matter of many members of both the Desjardins and Montmorency families) and double-majored in French and art history. She spent part of her second year abroad at Oxford University._

 _ **Life and Charity Work**_

 _Eleanor has stated she did not know of her family's prominence for most of her upbringing. Of the situation, she has said, "I knew my dad had a lot of friends in business – that's it. And I thought people loved my mom because she wore nice clothes and helped sick children. Nothing ever really occurred to me." She learned the true extent of her family's prominence when she studied history in one of her school classes and her great-grandfather, Etienne Mathieu Desjardins, had a "Prominent Quebeckers" chapter dedicated to him._

 _Though in her younger years she was characterized as a "girl about town", Eleanor has become a particularly private person, though she is often seen at Montreal and Toronto society events, which she attends on behalf of her family. She is also a mainstay in international social circles, and she has been called "The Most Well-Bred Woman in Canada". She often uses her position to fight for various international issues, and helps her mother and sister-in-law host fundraisers to raise money for charities, hospitals, and international causes._

Eleanor bit on the nail of her thumb nervously as she watched Rami read the entry. She wanted to desperately to be in his mind at that moment, to see what he was thinking so she could prepare for the inevitable worst.

When Rami finished reading, he looked at her, astonished. "Your great grandfather _saved_ the _Habs_!" he exclaimed.

Eleanor furrowed her brows, shaking her head at his outburst. "I don't get it. After everything that you've read all you have to say is 'Your great-grandfather saved the Habs?!' Where's the shock, Rami? Where are the questions about how much my family is worth or if my dad can get you a job or if I burn through Maseratis faster than I burn through the money it takes to buy?"

"Because that's all that matters to me! Your family saved the greatest hockey team in existence!"

"Rami, this is serious!" she scolded him again.

"I don't _care_ about any of that, Eleanor. Any of it. Who cares? So you've got a lot of money. Whatever," his voice became louder, trying to prove his point.

"It does matter," she said, her voice shaking. She could feel a tear coming. "At least, it's mattered in the past. Nobody's ever been cool about it."

Rami shook his head at her small revelation. The reason why she was making such a big deal about it being a 'serious issue' was because people had made it a 'serious issue' in the past. "It doesn't matter that I'm a child of immigrants and your family is one of the oldest and richest in Canada. It doesn't matter. And all the stuff I just read about your family, and who they are – the prestige, the family name that's older than Canada itself, the upbringing in Westmount – none of that stuff matters to me."

"Rami…"

"I like you for who _you_ are, not for your last name," he looked her dead in the eyes when he said so. "You can have all the money in the world but if you're a horrible person, you're a horrible person. No amount of money can fix that. And I know for a fact you're not a horrible person."

More tears escaped as Eleanor tried to wipe them away quickly. Rami's thumbs helped. She had never met anyone who was so indifferent to the information that was just revealed. "So that's it?"

"That's it, woman," he said, pulling her back onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her, squeezing her close to him. She nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck, taking in his scent – they hadn't been together for long but it was already intoxicating.

His hand snaked his way under her shirt, his fingertips trailing lightly along the skin on the small of her back. "Rami…please don't tell anyone at work. Not even Paul knows," she whispered.

"You don't have to worry about that," Rami said immediately afterwards. "It's nobody's business to know."


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks again for all your reviews! Sorry this is late being posted, I've been extremely busy playing host to a few international friends! Hope you enjoy this installment!_

 _XXXXXXXXXX_

 _March 16, 2014_

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of another busy day at the Performance Centre, Eleanor had to walk out to her car and lock herself in it so she could call Margot in peace. William Regal was currently using Paul's office as his own, medical rooms were being used for check-ups, and there were no other truly private spaces. Seeing as it was nearing lunch time anyway, she didn't think anyone would blink twice seeing her leave – with the amount of coffee runs she did, it would actually be _out_ of the ordinary to see her stay in the offices for lunch.

She dialed Margot's work number, hoping she wasn't too busy to talk. As a constitutional lawyer, Margot's days were always hectic, whether in court or not, so it was a long shot for Eleanor to be able to pin her down for a conversation during work hours.

As always, the receptionist answered the phone and Eleanor had to request for Margot. Immediately the receptionist shot down her request. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Desjardins is currently working with a client," she gave an excuse.

Eleanor smiled to herself. Eleanor knew Margot's code language that she would tell receptionists if calls were ever for her: "working with a client" really meant "in the office but not taking calls". "This is Eleanor Desjardins calling – her sister-in-law," she name-dropped herself. "Can you please put me through? I know Margot is in her office."

The receptionist gasped into the phone. "Ms. Desjardins, I'm so sorry! I didn't recognize you voice and -"

"It's quite alright, there's no need to apologize," Eleanor said.

"I'll transfer you to Margot right away," the receptionist said before the line went silent.

Eleanor waited for about half a minute before she heard Margot pick up the phone. "Eleanor!" she greeted her happily. "What brings this call to my _office_ and not to my cell phone?"

"Do you have time to talk?" Eleanor asked nervously, not bothering to answer Margot's question. "Like, fifteen, twenty minutes to talk? I really need to talk."

"Always for you. What's up?"

"I told Rami about the Desjardins," she figured she would just come out and say it instead of telling a long-winded story to lead up to it.

"And?"

"And…it didn't go how I thought it would," Eleanor confessed.

"Well, what happened?"

Eleanor sighed into the phone and bowed her head onto the steering wheel. She didn't have to try to remember the events of that night – she still remembered virtually every word that was said, every movement she made, and every sequence of events. It still irked her that the revelation went so well, which was mostly the reason why she needed to call Margot. "Well…I was over his place. And after we…uh…had dinner -"

"You don't have to be so prim and proper with me Eleanor. Pfftt – having dinner – more like sucking each other's face," Margot interjected.

Eleanor blushed at her words – not like Margot could see. "We were _sucking each other's face_ , and we stopped to take a breather, and he asked about Montreal, how my dad was, where the party was. When I told him at the Ritz Carleton, he asked if it was a milestone birthday for us to spend so much money, but I said no, we always have our parties there," Eleanor elaborated. "And I guess I was being distant…or cold. Because he asked if he did anything wrong and asked why I wasn't being more open about my family, so I just…I flat out asked him if he knew who Charles Desjardins was."

"And does he?" Margot asked.

"Oh, he knows," Eleanor responded, a tone of sarcasm in her voice. "He totally knows. He knows how we are season ticket holders for the Habs because he's a huge diehard fan – he mentioned that first. He knows all about the Desjardins wing at Montreal General Hospital, and he knew how we donate money all the time."

"Wow. And so?"

This is where Eleanor began to get embarrassed. "Well, the first thing that came out of his mouth after he found out it was my dad was 'So you have Habs season tickets?', because that's what he cared about most, I guess…and I got mad at him."

"You got mad at him? Why?!" Margot pressed.

Eleanor sighed into the phone again. "I know this sounds stupid…but he wasn't making a big deal out of it. He was just like 'oh, cool, whatever'. So then I got even madder. I kept insisting that this was serious. I showed him my Wikipedia page."

" _Eleanor_!" Margot exclaimed in shock.

"After he read the Wikipedia page, all he had to say was 'Your great-grandfather saved the Habs!' It's literally the only thing that matters to him," Eleanor continued, trying to ignore the vibe she knew Margot was sending over the line. "He reiterated that he didn't care…that my last name doesn't matter, that all that matters is that I'm a good person."

"You completely over-reacted, Eleanor," Margot chastised her. "Why not let him find out that sort of stuff at his own pace?" Eleanor could just picture Margot facepalming at her revelations.

Eleanor winced. "I figured I'd tell him everything now. _Really_ let him know what he's getting himself in to…that way he would have a reason to back out sooner rather than later. Give him a reason, an excuse, to tell me that it wasn't going to work out," her voice began to crack.

"Oh, Eleanor," there was true sympathy in Margot's voice. "You can't think that way. I know a lot of guys were like that in the past but -"

"I told him that," Eleanor interjected, trying to keep her tears in. "I told him how everybody else I'd ever been with had made a big deal about it – asking me all sorts of awful things about how many Maserati cars I've had or what our net worth is," she sniffed.

"And he didn't – that should tell you something," Margot said firmly. "It should tell you he's different. That he's not like the others. He's not that type of guy. You need to stop thinking that every guy is like the guys you've dated."

Eleanor paused to take in the words Margot was telling her. "Margot…what did you do when you found out about Jean-Philippe?" she asked timidly. Eleanor genuinely didn't know how Margot found out about her family, so she wanted to know to see if her experience could help any.

"That's different, Eleanor. I was eleven when I met your brother, not in my late twenties. It was my parents that told me – in a very crass way I may add – about your family," Margot revealed. Eleanor knew she wasn't going to get _all_ the information she wanted out of Margot at this specific moment. Right now, it was all about Eleanor, and Margot always did a good job of keeping things on track when people tried to derail conversations. "I was a baby…I was so young. I didn't know what it meant to 'own land' or 'be richer than the Prime Minister' because I thought the Prime Minister was the richest man in Canada."

There was a long pause in their conversation. "He's such a good guy, Margot," she whispered, with all the honesty she could muster in her voice. "He's so genuine. He's just such a _good person_. He asked about Henri and about the girls, he didn't care about anything else. He just took it all so well," she said. "How do I not fuck this up? Tell me how to not fuck this up Margot, please."

She could feel Margot's concern from the other line. It was times like these – conversations like these – that made Margot as close to her as a sister. "Do you want my honest opinion? Tell him it's okay to ask questions. I'm being serious. He might now be asking questions now, but trust me, I know he has them. There are very few people who live the life you do and he's bound to get confused. So tell him it's okay to ask about things so he can better understand the life you grew up with…and the life he's entering in to."

Eleanor nodded her head. "Okay. Is that what my brother did?"

"Yes. And it really helped. And _DO NOT_ get angry with any of the questions. Even the ones you think are stupid, because he doesn't think they're stupid if he's asking them," Margot warned.

Eleanor nodded her head. "Okay."

"Don't make this a bigger deal than it is, okay Eleanor? He seems like a great guy, and I know you really like him. He's obviously smitten with you if you two are together."

"I wouldn't say smitten," Eleanor mumbled.

"I'd say if you're sucking each other's face, you're pretty smitten with _each other_ ," Margot said, making Eleanor smile. "It's going to be fine, Eleanor. I promise. Keep being yourself in this relationship, because that's the healthiest thing for _you_."

"Okay." There was a pause between the two women. "I love you so much," Eleanor said. "Thank you."

"I love you too. This is what I'm here for…when I'm not upholding Canada's constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms," Margot joked, making both women giggle. "Everything will work out if you let it, Eleanor. Be positive."

"I will. I'll let you get back to upholding Canada's constitution," Eleanor said. "I'll call you with updates."

"Please do," Margot said. "And I'll be waiting to meet this Rami. He seems like an upstanding man."

Eleanor hung up the phone and let out a huge breath she didn't know she was holding. She leaned forward and laid her forehead on the steering wheel again, taking deep breaths. Margot's words were playing over and over in her head as she tried to regain her composure so she could go back inside. Margot, by all accounts, was right – Eleanor's past relationships, however long or short, had been plagued with issues from the start, so it was weird for Eleanor to be a part of a positive, healthy relationship right from the beginning. All she had to do was stay positive.

Eleanor could get used to Rami hugging her from behind, nuzzling his face into her neck and kissing her softly. He had dropped by after his training went very late, after Eleanor had already finished her dinner and any household chores she needed to do, and she was currently making him a veggie omelette while he got out a plate and fork for himself. He reminded her of a walking zombie.

Rami had complained that despite working at the same workplace he couldn't get to see her as often as he wanted. This, in some part, was true – she didn't want anybody to know about their relationship just yet. She wanted these small moments with Rami before everybody knew about them and began to prod into their relationship. It was important to her to get to know Rami without much outside interference from the people she surrounded herself with at work. The plan was working, for the most part, because the only people that knew were Fergal and Ben – Fergal because he had walked in on their moment in the medical room, and Ben because, well, Ben just seemed to know everything, and he caught on early.

When Eleanor flipped the omelette on to his plate, she jumped up on her counter to sit and watch him eat. He didn't bother to sit down at the table because the omelette would be gone in less than two minutes.

She watched him eat, a small smile on her face as he cut up the omelette and played with the food for a bit before he forked it into his mouth. He didn't notice her staring; probably thinking she was on her phone. She took the opportunity she had to follow up on Margot's advice. "Do you have any questions for me? About the other night?" she asked suddenly.

Rami looked up from his plate with a confused look on his face. "What?"

"The other night…the talk about my family? Do you have any questions?" she asked again.

"….No…" Rami said with a confused tone. " _Should_ I have any?"

"I just…I want you to know it's okay if you want to ask me questions about it, okay? My family is kind of weird so if anything ever comes up that you get confused about, just ask me."

Rami looked at her, setting his plate down on the counter. "I don't want to make a big deal out of this, Eleanor," he said in a serious tone. "How many times do I have to tell you I don't care about how rich your family is?"

"I know you don't," Eleanor said. "But like I told you, it's been an issue in the past, mostly because people don't understand. I really fucking want this to work, Rami. So I'm just letting you know," she told him in as firm a voice as he just spoke to her. She remembered back to some less-than-favourable memories of past boyfriends. "You can ask as many questions as you want, just don't…don't make comments or like…" she looked away.

"Hey…hey," he said, walking over to stand in between her legs and reaching for her chin. "I wouldn't…I would _never_ ," he said firmly, with as much conviction as any lawyer. "I would _never_ do something like that you. Ever."

Eleanor nodded her head. "I know. But please don't just think understanding the world I come from will just come naturally, because it won't. I'm asking you to actively ask questions so we can work together in this relationship."

"Okay," he said, leaning in to kiss her. She grabbed his face and rubbed her thumbs over his beard and cheeks. "I promise."

"Want to stay over tonight?" she asked after a few moments of silence.

Rami smiled and kissed her again. "If you'll have me."


	9. Chapter 9

_March 27 , 2014_

Eleanor was going to kill Rami.

It was the Friday of Wrestlemania weekend and where did she find herself? Not inside her hotel room, going over her schedule for the next day. Not with Paul, going over the general schedule of the next day. Not with any NXT talent, reminding them of their schedules. Nothing to do with schedules. Nothing to do with colour-coding documents or organization; what she was good at. No.

Instead, she was sandwiched between Natalie Neidhart and Rami, looking into the eyes of Bryan Danielson as he asked her about growing up in Montreal.

In some respects, the situation she currently found herself in was her worst nightmare. She was surrounded by Rami's old friends – Colby Lopez, Jon Good, Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan and Brianna Danielson, Fergal, and TJ and Natalie – and she was the only "office jobber" within the entire group of talent. She had to keep reminding herself to breathe – that fatefully, two hours ago, Bryan snuck up on Rami while he and Eleanor were talking and actually _invited_ her out to the dinner when he found out the possibility of her eating dinner alone in a hotel room. Rami had been trying to convince her for at least two weeks to tag along to the dinner, as the old crew had been planning it for a while, but she refused because she didn't want to intrude on the reunion. She adamantly refused at least three times when Bryan invited her until she admitted defeat.

Put her in a room full of WWE executives or shareholders and she could own the room better than any of them could. Maybe it was her upbringing and the people her parents surrounded her with growing up, but she was never nervous around those types: the executives, the bosses, the CEOs. However, put her in a situation with any of the talent, the actual performers she handled, and she would bite her nails, stammer on her words, and do whatever other nervous habit she could develop at the time. Perhaps it was a mental thing – whenever talent found out she worked "in the office", she could feel them look at her a different way. Maybe it was all in her head.

Regardless of how nervous she continued to feel throughout the dinner, Eleanor had to admit it was going fairly well. Brianna and Natalie were in good spirits and very talkative, though Eleanor felt horrible that she lied to their faces about her upbringing in Montreal. She could feel looks from Jon and Colby throughout the night, especially when Rami would include her in parts of conversation or Fergal would tell a story of his shenanigans in NXT that Eleanor would have to cover up, and though she tried to be confident, she couldn't quite respond to their stares as confidently as she wanted to.

As Fergal was divulging into another story – one where he wore his spacesuit to the Performance Centre and managed to convince Dusty Rhodes he was changing his gimmick with the support of creative – Eleanor's phone began to ring loudly. Her cheeks flushed red as she dug through her purse to find it, seeing Paul's number flash across the screen. She knew Fergal would need help telling his story, but she couldn't exactly ignore a phone call from her boss.

"I'm really sorry – I have to take this," she said to nobody in particular, though Rami knew that look on her face and saw the name that flashed across the screen.

She walked away from the table quickly, feeling the eyes of those at dinner staring at her. She brought her phone to her ear. "Hi Paul."

"Hey, what are you up to?" Paul asked.

Eleanor looked back to the group, who were immersed in conversation again. "Uhh…I'm actually having dinner right now," she said.

"Oh, well I'm sorry," he apologized, although she knew he wasn't really sorry. "I just have a few questions about tomorrow, about NXT. Do you have time?"

She couldn't say no. She had memorized the schedule and she knew Paul could be a scatterbrain. She stayed on the phone with him for at least ten minutes, confirming certain events, which talent was participating in them, and media outlets that would be covering such events. After confirming everything at least twice, she told Paul he needed to calm down, stop trying to be as organized as her, and keep focused on his own schedule. She heard Stephanie laugh in the background and realized she was on speakerphone the entire time. Cringing internally at the fact that Stephanie heard how she spoke to Paul, she caught up with Stephanie for a bit before Paul let her get back to dinner. She walked back to the table clutching her phone between her hands.

As she slipped back into her chair, Rami looked at her, concerned. She was gone for a while. "Everything okay?" he asked quickly. He wanted desperately to grab her hand but knew Eleanor would have his head on a platter if he even so much as touched her in front of anybody that could rat her out to Paul.

"Was that the big bad boss man?" she heard Jon ask in a snarky voice as she tucked in her chair.

"Yeah, that was Paul," she nodded her head, not catering to Jon's sense of humour to repeat the moniker he gave Paul.

"Did he want you to do some more bitch work for him?" he asked in a similarly snarky voice, grinning at her. He knew he was beginning to push her buttons.

Any sort of pleasant smile or look on Eleanor's face was gone when she heard that term – "bitch work". "If by 'bitch work' you mean organizing and supervising almost every single NXT talent's schedule for this weekend, then _yes_ , we were going over _bitch work_ ," she responded tactfully.

Jon laughed at her response. She wasn't sure if Colby was smiling because he liked her response or because he liked the fact that Jon was getting under her skin so easily. "Come on, darling. I was just joking. I'm just so fascinated by the amount of colour-coding that's possible in a WWE office job. I've never met an office jobber. You're a real diamond in the rough, you know that?"

Rami kept looking between Eleanor and Jon whenever the other spoke. He felt like interjecting but neither stayed silent enough to let him. "Lay off, man," Claudio said casually, trying not to let anything escalate further. "She's got a job to do too."

"I've been in this company only one year less than you. The fact that you've never met an 'office jobber' speaks more volumes about you than it does me," Eleanor retorted.

"Alright alright, calm down," Colby waved her off. "Let's just drop it."

"Jon's just jealous you get to work so close to William Regal," Brianna joked, diffusing the situation. "Ignore Jon. Are you coming to the Hall of Fame tomorrow?"

Eleanor took a deep breath to calm herself down and shook her head at Brie's question. "I'm usually working since some talent still have signings and media to do," she said. "But even then, I'd rather have a fan or family member take my spot. They would have a much better experience than me."

Brie looked impressed at her answer. "She's gracious _and_ good-looking," she directed his comment towards Natalie, who nodded her head. Brie looked back at Eleanor. "Are you _sure_ you _actually_ work for this company? You're too nice."

The later the time was on the clock, the less Rami felt surrounded by his old friends. Bryan and Brianna were the first to go, Bryan having to prepare for an early call for interviews tomorrow morning. Eleanor was next, conceding defeat not even half an hour later. TJ and Natalie had just left, so Rami was left with Jon, Colby, Fergal and Claudio.

"Eleanor seems cool," Claudio commented out of the blue as the men ordered another batch of drinks. "How is she down in NXT?"

Before Rami could speak, Fergal answered instead. "Yeah, she's phenomenal. That girl has her head screwed on right, let me tell you."

"She's a bit cold, don't you think?" Jon asked, adding more fuel to the fire.

Rami immediately shook his head. "She's not cold, man. She's really cool. What if someone questioned the integrity of _your_ job?"

"People _do_ question the integrity of my job – of _all_ of our jobs," Jon said, feeling like he was speaking for everybody at the table.

"In front of you? To your face? At dinner with friends and other people you've never met before?" Rami asked rhetorically to Jon. Jon had nothing to say. " _That_ wasn't cool."

"Whatever, man," he mumbled.

Colby felt the need to interject. "Well, you made friends with the right girl," he commented.

"What do you mean?" Rami asked.

Colby shrugged his shoulders. "You know what I mean. She's the assistant to the guy that makes most of the decisions. If she's got pull…if she's in his ear, you're set."

Rami was shaking his head vehemently before Colby even finished his sentence. "It's not like that _at all_. You've known me for years, Colby. You really think I would do something like that?"

"No no no," Colby shook his own head and held his hands out in front of him as a sign of mercy. "I'm just _saying -_ "

"Don't," Rami warned, holding his own hand up. "I get what you're trying to say, but we're not going to go there. There are so many other things we can talk about."

Colby and Jon admitted defeat, taking sips of their respective drinks before starting a conversation about some old shenanigans they got up to last Wrestlemania when they were both in the Shield together. Rami looked quickly at Fergal, who was already staring at him. Rami didn't have to say a word for Fergal to understand what he meant.

Eleanor wasn't expecting to see Brianna on Saturday, but alas, Wrestlemania week brought many surprises to everyone involved.

Saturday was arguably the busiest and most stressful day of all Wrestlemania Axxess weekend. Brie had been busy doing media with Nicole, but she didn't have nearly as many commitments as some others, even with her tag team match. She'd seen Eleanor at various moments throughout the day, and every time she did, Eleanor was taking a phone call, or texting someone, or talking into a headset, or directing handlers or other media personnel with a worried look on her face. Brie knew that this wasn't her first Wrestlemania weekend, but she assumed that didn't make it any less stressful. Handling the NXT talent was a big deal now that it was generating so much buzz, and despite her obvious professionalism and dedication to her job, she could tell Eleanor was stressed.

In the half an hour of downtime Eleanor had to have lunch, Brie had pulled up a chair beside her in the WWE associates section of the convention centre. "How are you doing?" Brie asked.

"Stressed, as per usual," Eleanor shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "How has media been for you today?"

It was Brie's turn to shrug her shoulders. "It's been alright. If I can be honest, too many questions about being Mrs. Danielson, not enough about my actual match," she confessed. "But that's always the case."

Eleanor chuckled slightly at Brie's revelation. "I understand. It's horrible but it's a reality of the job."

"Yeah…unfortunately you got a taste of that last night," Brie grimaced. "I wanted to apologize for what happened."

Eleanor looked at Brie skeptically. "Why are you apologizing? It wasn't your fault at all."

"I know, but it was still a stupid thing for him to say to you. You didn't deserve it at all. And not that it should be an excuse, but I think it was more so the drink talking than Jon Good talking. Regardless," Brie looked around her before she continued, "From what I've heard through the grapevine, Rami gave him a word once we left."

Rami hadn't mentioned anything when he dropped by her room later that night, after their reunion was finished. He hadn't mentioned anything all morning either. Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows. "Really?"

Brie nodded. "Claudio told Bryan, who obviously told me," she smirked. "Your honour has been defended, even though you did a damn good job on your own last night."

Eleanor chuckled. "It happens more than you think. It's in the job description when you're Paul's assistant."


	10. Chapter 10

_Sorry for the lack of updates, I was away on holiday in London for a week! I'd appreciate it if you would all review this chapter, please! I genuinely want to hear your feedback and it brightens my day when someone takes time to write one!_

 _Also, warning: sexy times ahead. I'm horrible at writing them._

 _XXXXXXXXXX_

 _March 29, 2014_

If Friday and Saturday had been stressful for Eleanor, then she didn't have a word to explain how Sunday felt. When she was working, she was no longer just an executive assistant – she was every job in the book and then some; ordering people around, taking orders from other people, running last-minute scripts, organizing last minute media – the list went on and on. At 6:55pm, she collapsed onto a chair in front of a backstage monitor and hadn't moved for an hour. Paul told her she didn't have to work the actual Wrestlemania show time of 7-11pm – what a thoughtful gift he had given her after the organized chaos that was Axxess – so she made sure she got what she needed to do done so she could actually enjoy the show.

She knew there were WWE personnel, superstars, and divas all around her, but she was too tired to care. Most of the participants in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale had already changed and were wandering backstage, looking for their friends and a monitor to sit and watch the show. Eleanor took out her phone and noticed a few picture messages that were sent from Margot of her nieces and nephew, and a text from Jean-Philippe. _'So, what's the insider scoop? I think I'm even more invested than Henri is.'_

Eleanor smiled. Before she could type a response to her brother, the sound of a chair dragging across the floor interrupted her. She looked up to see Ryan Reeves, otherwise known as Ryback, dragging a chair close to the monitor where she was sitting. "Do you mind if I sit?" he asked.

"By all means," she said, looking back down at her phone to type a reply. _'That's because you're still a kid at heart.'_

Eleanor set her phone down on her lap and noticed Ryan was eyeing her. She looked at the monitor to ignore him – Rowdy Roddy Piper was congratulating Daniel Bryan on his win. "Are you a new diva?" he asked.

What was it with everybody thinking she was in training? She did not look like a diva by any means, at least she thought. She shook her head. "No. I just work for head office," she said, deciding to leave Paul out of the equation.

"Oh, nice," Ryan nodded. "I'm Ryan, it's nice to meet you," he extended his hand. Eleanor shook it politely and introduced herself. "What brings you to Wrestlemania weekend?"

"I'm responsible for the NXT talent," she answered. "I was basically their mom the whole weekend," she joked.

"Aww man, I don't miss being down there at all," Ryan commented. Eleanor didn't appreciate the comment, but she decided not to say anything. "Maybe I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had someone like you to look at every day."

Eleanor winced, smiling awkwardly at his flirting. "You say that now, but you'd hate me because I'd be busting your chops everyday."

"I'd take it from someone like you, no problem."

Eleanor looked back at the monitor and tried to continue watching the Daniel Bryan segment, hoping that Ryan would catch on to her interest in the show and stop his incessant flirting. "The NXT guys are good, though? They don't give you a hard time, do they? Cause us big boys can talk to them if you need it," he started again after a moment of silence.

The whole 'damsel in distress' trope he was trying to pull annoyed Eleanor. She was certainly no damsel in distress that needed saving. "Oh no no no, they're amazing. Big softies at heart. Just the stress of this weekend has almost led me to drinking," she tried the lighthearted approach again.

"How about after the show, I buy you that drink and we get to know each other better?" Ryan proposed, grinning slightly.

Eleanor looked down at her phone nervously before looking back at Ryan, who was still looking at her. She pursed her lips into a straight line. "Ah…I appreciate the sentiment, but I think I'll pass."

"Aww, come on, why not?" he didn't give up.

"I've got someone waiting back home in Montreal," she said awkwardly, hoping that would quiet him.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him, Eleanor," he persisted.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she said firmly.

Before Ryan could start begging (that was the next logical step, Eleanor thought), she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around abruptly and saw Fergal's smiling face. "What's the craic, Maple?" he asked, using the nickname her gave her. In that moment he broke the tension between Ryan and Eleanor.

"Craic's been good, Devitt," Eleanor answered. She glanced over at Ryan, who looked pissed that Fergal had interrupted them. Eleanor couldn't be more thankful. "Hey, have you seen Dream? I'm supposed to relay a message to him from Paul," she lied.

"Yeah, I saw him near gorilla before," Fergal pointed behind him.

Eleanor stood up from her seat and faced Ryan. "It was nice to meet you," she said politely.

"Yeah," he huffed, focusing his attention to the match.

Eleanor rolled her eyes and began walking with Fergal towards gorilla, though he knew she wasn't really looking for Dusty Rhodes. "What was that all about?" he asked.

"Don't ask."

XXXXXXXXXX

After the thrill of Wrestlemania was over, Rami was still on a high from seeing Colby cash in and win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He made sure to find Colby amidst the hustle and bustle of backstage and congratulate him, while Eleanor and Fergal mostly kept to themselves or interacted with others around them. Eleanor found it amazing how, even after all this time, Rami was still as passionate about wrestling as he was when he was young. It didn't even bother her that they were a little bit late getting back to the hotel because Rami was helping Colby bask in the glory of winning the title.

Rami, Eleanor, and Fergal carpooled back to the hotel together, Rami and Fergal discussing the matches for most of the ride. Eleanor was slumped in the passenger's seat, looking between a driving Rami and an excited-looking Fergal as they raved over the Undertaker versus Bray Wyatt match. They were like two kids in a candy store.

"What did you guys do when I was hanging with Jay?" Rami asked Eleanor, glancing over at her. He had spent a lot of time with Jay Reso, otherwise known as Christian, throughout the night.

"Not much, really. I plopped myself onto a chair in front of a monitor and watched the first hour of the show until Fergal found me," she said.

Fergal laughed from the backseat. "Ha ha, I found her alright! I also found that sooooooomebody has a crush on Eleanor!" he beamed.

Eleanor saw Rami furrow his eyebrows at Fergal's revelation. "Who?"

"Ryan."

"Ryan? Ryan who?"

" _Ryan_ Ryan! The Ryback!" Fergal revealed.

Eleanor rolled her eyes at the revelation. She knew Fergal wasn't trying to make a big deal out of it – he was just trying to get a rise out of Rami, who never got angry; a sort of "defend your woman" rise that men liked to ignite out of one another, purely for their own enjoyment. She knew Rami well enough that he wouldn't bite. She also knew herself well enough to know she _would_ bite. "I handled it myself, thank you very much," she said more so to Fergal than she did Rami. "I handled him like I handled Jon at dinner. I said I had someone waiting for me in Montreal."

Rami looked over at her with a small smile on his face. He trusted her to know that absolutely nothing would have happened, but the way she told the events, the confidence in her voice, made him trust her all the more.

"Ain't that the sweetest thing," Fergal cooed. He watched as Rami and Eleanor kept glancing into each other's eyes – Rami breaking contact every so often to look back onto the road. He could tell they were having a moment. "You know you two can touch each other around me, right? Like, Jesus Christ. I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Shut up, Devitt," Eleanor mumbled, grinning slightly as Rami reached his right hand over to her. She grabbed it immediately.

"You two have been rigid all week. Especially at that dinner. For the love of God, Rami looked like he wanted to pounce on you," Fergal commented.

"I did _not_ ," Rami interjected. He let go of Eleanor's hand to turn into the parking lot for the hotel. The parking attendant noticed the magnetic flag with the Wrestlemania logo and directed Rami to the underground parking lot.

"Yes you did. I'm surprised none of the others picked up on it."

As the three got out of the car, Rami waited for Eleanor and grabbed her hand again as they walked through the underground garage towards the elevators. There was a moment of silence as they waited for the elevator. "I can't believe Ryback hit on my girlfriend," Rami said unexpectedly, sending Eleanor and Fergal into laughter.

"He seemed to think I was a diva in NXT," Eleanor elaborated slightly. "I mean…come on. Poor judgment on his part." They all stepped on to the elevator and hit their respective floor numbers.

"I don't know about that…you're quite the diva, alright…" Fergal commented.

"HEY!" Eleanor yelled, slapping him on his shoulder.

Fergal flinched away comically. "I mean it as a term of endearment, I swear!" he held his hands up in mercy.

"Yeah, yeah," Eleanor waved him off as the elevator stopped at his floor. He was only a floor below them.

"See you kiddies later," he waved them off. "If I call Rami's room tomorrow morning and he doesn't answer I'll know what's up."

Eleanor lunged at him playfully, and Rami grabbed her waist with his arm to hold her back. Fergal had a shit-eating grin on his face as the door closed. "I'll get you, Devitt!" she screamed before the doors finally shut. She turned towards Rami, who still had his arm wrapped around her waist, and gave him a small peck on the lips. "You're gonna have to help me extract revenge."

"That'll be no problem."

They walked to Eleanor's hotel room hand-in-hand, Eleanor opening the door with her keycard before they shuffled in. Eleanor immediately dumped her purse onto a chair as Rami took off his blazer. He looked back at her, standing near the desk, and walked towards her, taking off his cap and placing it on the table. She began to take off her jewelry when she heard Rami's voice, slow and steady. "How amazing was Colby's Wrestlemania moment?"

"I don't think many people were expecting that," she said, without looking at Rami. She turned to lean against the desk, and noticed him looking down at nothing in particular. He seemed to be deep in concentration, and in a split second, she came to the realization that he was thinking about his own future with the company.

"Hey," she whispered, grabbing his face gently with her hands and kissing him. "You're gonna get your moment too, you know."

"You think?"

Eleanor nodded her head, kissing him again. "I do."

Rami initiated the kiss this time. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him. He deepened the kiss, their tongues exploring each other's mouths before Rami picked her up and held her for a while, setting her down on the desk.

He felt Eleanor begin to unbutton his shirt and he returned the favour by slipping his hands underneath hers and lifting it off of her in one smooth motion. Eleanor's hands roamed over his exposed chest before she brought them up to his shoulders and slipped the fabric of his shirt back. As Rami continued to kiss her forcefully, Eleanor wrapped her legs around his torso. He picked her up again and led her to the bed, where he proceeded to lay her down and kiss his way down her chest.

Eleanor was breathing heavily as she felt Rami's lips go lower and lower until she pulled him back up and kissed him forcefully, working on the belt and zipper of his pants. He helped her speed up the process before Eleanor pushed them down. He worked on her pants and helped her wiggle out of them. He looked down at her, in just her bra and panties. "You're so beautiful," he breathed out, taking in the full visual.

Eleanor bit her lip and smiled nervously. Nobody she had ever been with had been so _intimate_ like Rami was. Every thing he did, every word he said actually meant something. There was actual emotion and feeling behind his words – they weren't empty, said in the moment just to get Eleanor into bed. He _meant_ what he said, and that made a world of a difference. She rose from her position to kiss him, and Rami took the opportunity to unclasp her bra. She lay down again and he slipped his hands underneath her panties and slid them off. Eleanor returned the favour.

As Rami's lips continued to explore Eleanor's body, his hand found its way between Eleanor's legs and he began to stroke her, garnering whimpers and sighs of pleasure. She tried to reach down to grab his member to return the favour, but he stopped her on the way and pinned her hands over her head. She continued to whimper as he worked between her legs.

"Rami," she breathed out desperately. "D…d'you…" she could barely talk. "Condom."

He grabbed his wallet out of his jeans, reluctant to stop his teasing before ripping the little packet open. Eleanor seemed to be catching her breath as he slipped it on. He hovered on top of her, and she spread her legs for him willingly.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Please," Eleanor pleaded. "I want you."

Rami didn't have to be told twice. He positioned himself and thrust slowly inside her, making sure to take his time. Eleanor had a look of pure ecstasy on her face as he pushed in her. He kissed her lips. "Are you okay?"

Eleanor nodded her head quickly. "You feel so good," she breathed out.

He continued to move, thrusting in and out and developing a steady rhythm that brought as much pleasure to him as it did to her. Her whimpers were music to his ears; he moaned in response and it wasn't long before they were both near their climax. Rami began thrusting harder and faster until he could feel Eleanor come undone around him. He came soon after, making sure she continued to feel as much pleasure as he could give her.


	11. Chapter 11

_April 8, 2014_

"You're okay that I'm not driving you?"

Eleanor sat on the kitchen counter at Rami's apartment, her legs dangling over the edge. Her arms were crossed against her chest, covering her body nervously. She was watching Rami move about the kitchen, making himself a sandwich before he left for the airport. The WWE was embarking on their European tour and Paul had told Eleanor she wasn't needed for the duration of the tour.

Eleanor felt that Rami had been avoiding eye contact since she mentioned earlier in the morning that she wasn't going to drive him to the airport. He accepted it nonchalantly but she knew by his behaviour that he wasn't as okay with it as he seemed to be.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Rami said dismissively, stuffing almost a quarter of the sandwich in his mouth. He still hadn't looked at her – _really_ looked at her.

Eleanor sighed, biting her lip. She watched him as he stuffed the next quarter of the sandwich in his mouth. "I know you're upset…but –"

"But talent will be there, and it'll be weird, I know that," Rami was curt with his words.

Eleanor felt like she was going to draw blood on her lip. "I'm sorry Rami, but I don't…I can't risk my job," she offered.

Rami set his plate down on the counter, putting his hands on his hips. He looked at Eleanor for a brief moment before looking away again. "When do you think you'll be ready?"

Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows. "What kind of question is that?" she asked.

It was Rami's turn to sigh. "You know what I mean, Eleanor. If it were up to me I'd be parading you down the street on a convertible. I'd be making posters and putting them up in the Performance Centre letting everyone know that a dork like me managed to land you."

Eleanor brought her hand to her face and began to bite her nails. "I don't know, okay? It'll happen when it happens," she said, her voice sounding a bit harsher than she intended.

Rami walked the short distance over to her and grabbed her hand away from her mouth, forcing her to stop biting her nails. "I didn't mean to make you upset," he said, still holding on to her hand.

"No, I know. I get it."

"You don't know how hard it is not to be able to hold you hand under a table or even so much as _hug_ you at the Performance Centre," Rami said. "I'm not trying to pin this all on you _at all_ but -"

"It _is_ all on me," Eleanor said.

"No, it isn't," Rami shook his head. "I can be more understanding. I'm _trying_ to be more understanding." Eleanor appreciated the sentiment, but she knew Rami wasn't done. "Does this have something to do with your family?" he asked.

"What? No!" she vehemently denied it. "My brother and sister-in-law want to meet you, Rami. It's not like that."

"I don't mean it that way. I mean like…" Rami paused. Eleanor could tell he was trying to string the sentence together in his head before he said it out loud. "The whole _Desjardins_ business, the not telling anyone. Like, are you scared that if a lot of people begin to find out, they'll find out about your family or something?"

Eleanor looked at the floor, unable to answer Rami's question. He stayed silent, waiting for an answer, giving her time. She gulped to try and stop herself from crying. "My whole life I've felt that people I've met through my parents – which is the majority of people I know – have looked at me weird because of who I am, because of who my parents are. I didn't want to go through my whole life without knowing the feeling that someone was looking at me because I'm just Eleanor Desjardins, not _Eleanor Desjardins_."

Rami placed his hands on her thighs and kissed her lightly. In his own way, he understood on a basic level where she was coming from – what exactly her rationale was and what was going on in her mind. For half of his life he only had a tight-knit group of friends that loved his quirks – it was only when he started to rise in the indie scene that random people from high school, who wouldn't have given him the light of day before, would start adding him on Facebook, or Tweeting him pleading _'Remember me?'_. Besides being annoying, it was disheartening for him, and he didn't even know a tenth of the people Eleanor and her family probably knew.

"This job is a part of that. I can just be me. I don't have to be the girl about town or the pretty young socialite or the businessman's daughter. I can be Eleanor, who still cries over The Graduate, who paints in her spare time, who makes killer guacamole for her boyfriend and his friends," she continued explaining. Rami smiled lightly. He leaned in to wrap his arms around her and she snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. "It feels so good, Rami. The anonymity feels good. I just want it to last a little bit longer."

How could he deny her anything?

"Okay," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "Okay."

XXXXXXXXXX

 _Just about to board to Dublin. I already miss you and your guacamole._

 **I'll have some ready for when you get home. I already miss you too.**

xxxxxxxxxx

 **Dusty says he misses your positivity at the Performance Centre.**

 _Tell Dream he's getting an Alabama slam when I get home._

 **That's mean. Don't be a lemon!**

xxxxxxxxxx

 _I miiiisssssss yyyyyoooooouuuuuu_

 **I miiiiisssss yyyyoooouuuu ttttoooooooo**

 _Our Skype call left me more frustrated than I thought it would._

 **How?**

 _You know how._

 **Kick Fergal out of the room for a bit so we can have another call…**

 _He won't like it, but I just might do that…_

xxxxxxxxxx

 **Where are you guys now?**

 _I'm already in London, waiting for everyone else to get here for Raw._

 **Say hi to the Queen for me, will you?**

 _Umm…you'd probably be able to get her on speed dial…let's be real._

 **At least bring me back some scones? Orlando can't even do scones…**

 _Sorry but I've eaten all the scones in this country. I am coming back with my DNA as 35% scone._

 **You're a weird one, Mr. Sebei**

 _That's SIR Sebei now that I'm part scone._

 **You know, the Brits don't have hockey on demand 24/7…**

 _Well that changes things…I'm back to being 50% poutine._

 **That's more like it!**

xxxxxxxxxx

 _April 14, 2015_

The Performance Centre was unusually quiet due to many of the NXT talent being on the European tour. Of course, many of the new talent were still present and training as if nothing was new, but the pace was a lot more relaxed, a lot less stringent on timing. Nobody had to rush any in-ring training because Devitt and Kenta had to practice spots for their match, and best of all, no meetings were being called by Paul.

With Paul gone, Eleanor was free to use his office as her own (which she took full advantage of) and to work closer with the likes of William Regal. While he didn't ask her to go on coffee or tea runs as often as Paul did, she would have gladly done so. He was appreciative of everything that she was doing. He had pointed out on more than one occasion – in front of talent – that even with her boss gone, she still came in and worked.

"So how was Wrestlemania weekend for you? I hope Paul didn't work you too hard," Regal began to strike up a conversation. Eleanor had just brought him a cup of tea and, if she knew anything about William Regal, it was that he enjoyed a good conversation during a cup of tea.

Eleanor smiled. "Paul worked me to the bone. You knew, I knew – everyone knew he would. But it was worth it in the end. Everything actually ran smoothly, to my delight. Especially Axxess."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. At least he gave you the evenings off. He wouldn't have been as nice to some people."

Eleanor looked at Regal skeptically at his comment about having the evenings off. How did he know such a thing? Did Paul tell him? Why would they even be discussing her work schedule? "How did you know I got the evenings off?" she asked.

"Oh, Jon mentioned it."

"Cena?"

"No, Good."

Ah, there it was. Eleanor nodded her head. "Oh. Yeah."

"He called about a week ago and we just talked about that weekend," Regal revealed.

"He calls you?" Eleanor questioned.

Regal nodded his head. "I'm that boy's mentor. He calls whenever he wants because I know that when he wants to talk, he wants to _talk_. He appreciates the guidance more than anyone."

Eleanor found the revelation interesting. "That's nice of you to still be there for him, even though he's been on the main roster for a while."

"He mentioned how he had dinner with you?" Regal's tone turned skeptical. "And how he may have ruffled your feathers a bit."

Eleanor wanted to bang her head against the desk. She thought she left that confrontation behind two weeks ago. "Oh, it was nothing. Honestly," she tried to dismiss it.

"He told me he insinuated your work was 'bitch work' and that you put him in his place," Regal said.

"Something like that."

Regal smiled at her. "I always knew I liked you for some reason."

Eleanor felt the need to explain – if Regal and Jon were close, they must have talked about it at some length. She felt Regal needed to know information from her, too. "I wasn't harsh or anything. I just don't appreciate when people make derogatory comments about my work," she defended herself.

"And that's the reason I like you," Regal smiled. "You shouldn't have to defend yourself. I know Jon can be an ass at times, so whatever you did, whatever you said, it was probably warranted."

Eleanor couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that William Regal was applauding her standing up to one of the talent. She felt like she was living in some sort of bizzaro world. "I think they think that because I'm an office jobber, I'm gonna tell on them or something. They think I have pull, with you or with Dream or with Paul, but I really don't. They just don't know that, or they don't accept it."

Regal shook his head as he took a sip of tea. "Give yourself a little credit, darling. Paul would listen to you if you said something."

xxxxxxxxxx

 **I want you home now please and thank you.**

 _Believe me, I would love to be back too. Just a few more days…_

 **What if I can't wait that long?**

 _Don't tease me!_

xxxxxxxxxx

 **Tomorrow, tomorrow!**

 _Be at my place, please? I've left a spare key with the security. I'll let them know you're coming._

 **You don't have to ask me twice.**

xxxxxxxxxx

 _April 21, 2015_

A loud thud had awoken Eleanor in the middle of the night. To Rami's request, she was sleeping at his place the night before he came back so that they could waste no time reacquainting. Her body immediately went into panic mode as she heard the noise. She stiffened immediately, flipping the covers off and sitting up. She heard a voice groan loudly from the floor.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" she screamed, reaching over and grabbing the small lamp off of the bedside table. She was ready to hit the intruder with a lamp if she needed to.

"Urrrrugh, it's me!" the voice exclaimed, finally getting up from the floor. "It's just me!"

Eleanor was confused for a moment – completely convinced she was still dreaming – before she came to her senses and recognized the voice that was groaning. "Rami?" she asked in a much more silent voice.

His head popped up from the edge of the bed. His trademark hat was halfway off his head. "Hey," he groaned.

"What are you doing on the floor?" she asked.

"Your boyfriend is a klutz," he said simply, finally managing to stand up.

Eleanor finally came to her senses. Rami wasn't supposed to be home until tomorrow afternoon. "What are you doing here?!" she asked again. It was the more important question, considering the circumstances. She pulled his face towards her and kissed him, then wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly, as if he would float away at any given moment.

"I caught an earlier flight. I didn't want to be away any longer than I needed to be," he confessed, nuzzling his nose into the crook of her neck, kissing her lightly there.

Eleanor could feel her insides burning, overjoyed that he was back. "You must be exhausted," she commented, running her hands through his hair.

He nodded. "That's partly why I fell…that and the darkness," he said. "Let's just go to bed, please."

Eleanor began to unbutton his shirt for him, sliding it off his shoulders as Rami worked on his belt and pants. In just his undershirt and boxers, he climbed into his bed, Eleanor pulling the covers over them.

Eleanor was too happy to speak. She wrapped her arms around him and he returned the sentiment, pulling her body against his. She kissed him softly on the lips. Having him with her after so long felt like heaven. She went a step further, wanting him to truly know how much she missed him, and wrapped her leg around him, wanting to feel him everywhere on her body. Rami kissed her again, more deeply this time, putting his hands in her hair.

Eleanor put her hands on his face, her thumbs rubbing against his cheekbones and along his lips. She was on the verge of crying but she was able, despite her tiredness and tornado of emotions at Rami's early homecoming, to keep it together "I missed you so much. I'm so glad you're back."

"I missed _you_ ," he said, slipping his hand under her shirt, his fingertips on her back. He kissed her forehead and muttered, "Good to be home," before drifting into a deep sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

_Thanks again to all those who have reviewed and subscribed to this story! Please leave some more comments telling me what you think, how this story is progressing, what you would like to see etc :) I hope you enjoy this next installment. Another warning: more sexy times ahead. And as always, I suck at writing them. Enjoy!_

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _April 21, 2015_

The next morning Eleanor was woken up by a weird sensation on her neck. She and Rami had stayed virtually attached to each other almost the entire night, not breaking apart for their own personal space in bed. As she began to come to her senses, she realized the weird sensation on her neck was Rami – they had been sleeping in the spooning position and he had apparently woken up before her.

She moved her neck a little bit to signify he'd woken her up, and she nuzzled her body closer to his, feeling his length against her. He kissed her a few more times before moving up slightly to her ear. "You're wearing my shirt," he said huskily.

Eleanor smiled to herself. "It smelled like you," she said simply.

"I've imagined you in my Habs shirt for a while…" he whispered again, nipping at her ear.

Eleanor giggled. "And?"

"Hotter than my wildest dreams," he said.

Eleanor flipped onto her back with a smile on her face. Rami's eyes had a fire to them. She pressed her lips to his immediately and his hands began wandering under the shirt. As they continued kissing Rami let out a small groan as his hands reached her chest. "No bra?"

Eleanor smiled devilishly and shrugged her shoulders. "Easier access."

Rami shook his head and chuckled. "You're a little devil," he grumbled before capturing her lips in another passionate kiss.

After a few minutes of their heated kissing and hands exploring each other's bodies, Eleanor couldn't take much longer – she wanted him now. It had been too long since had last seen him, touched him, felt him. She pushed Rami by his shoulders onto his back and climbed on top of him to straddle him. She looked down at him, biting her lip, running her hands along his chest. She bent down to kiss him, and he ran his hands underneath her shirt once more, taking it off and throwing it to the side. Rami took a moment to admire the fully naked Eleanor in front of him. He dragged his hands over her sides as they caught their breath.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, his hands grabbing on to her hips and almost kneading the flesh. "You're so beautiful."

Eleanor reached in between them and lowered herself on to him, closing her eyes and relishing in the feeling of him finally being inside of her. They both let out moans of pleasure as she lowered herself fully, taking a moment to get comfortable.

"I missed this so much," she said as she noticed Rami's hands were up. She took hold of them, palm to palm, and he took the force of her rocking back and forth on his elbows, which gave her something to lean on or brace against. Eleanor began to rock back and forth, and she could swear she saw Rami's eyes roll to the back of his head in pleasure. Rami's moans kept getting louder as he kept muttering her name and various expletives, signaling his pleasure. It wasn't long before both Eleanor and Rami were close to their climax.

Rami brought their hands down so that Eleanor's body was against his and began to move his own hips up and down, in sync with her swaying. The extra sensation pushed Eleanor over the edge. "Oh fuck, Rami," she panted, moaning until her climax finally took over. Rami followed soon after, crying out in pleasure.

As they both caught their breaths Rami slipped out of her and she lay down by his side, his arm underneath her head. He looked over at her and kissed her forehead. She snuggled into him and they both fell asleep again, not caring much about the day ahead.

XXXXXXXXXX

The smell of pancakes emanating from the kitchen awoke Rami to an empty bed. He knew jetlag was always worse coming back from Europe (rather than going there), but the smell of pancakes could always wake him up – any breakfast food, really. He shuffled out of bed and into his ensuite, quickly splashing some water on his face and brushing his teeth for less than a minute before he reckoned he didn't care what his breath smelled like or if his face was oily – all he wanted to see was Eleanor.

Emerging from his bedroom into the small open living space, he saw Eleanor busy at the stove, a stack of pancakes already on a plate to her side with fresh fruit, the container of maple syrup beside it. He snuck up behind her quietly and wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked back and smiled as he kissed her neck before focusing her attention on flipping the pancake. No words needed to be said – in that moment, it was just Rami and Eleanor in domestic bliss.

The couple continued to stand in their position as Eleanor worked on the pancakes. As she flipped the last pancake onto the waiting plate, she sprinkled some fruit on top before finally turning around to face Rami. She smiled up at him and kissed him quickly. "Good morning," she whispered, their foreheads still touching.

"Good morning darling," he whispered back, kissing her again. "It feels so good to be back."

"I bet it does," Eleanor smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. He picked her up suddenly and placed her on the counter before attacking her with kisses, as if he didn't get enough from their morning rendezvous. They kept kissing until they lost track of time – neither knew how long the tryst had been going on until finally they stopped to collect their breath.

The container of maple syrup reminded Eleanor that she had made pancakes. She almost forgot since the sensation of having Rami's hands all over her blocked everything else out of her mind. She brought her hands up to his face and pecked him on the lips quickly. "Are you sure you were allowed to come back so early? I don't want you getting into trouble."

"Of course I was allowed to come back. I just switched my ticket with someone who wanted to be there an extra night for some site-seeing," Rami said.

"Are you sure?"

"I came back early because I wanted to. Because I love you. Nobody could have said or done anything to make me stay."

Eleanor's body stiffened at the words she had just heard. "You…you love me?"

"Well…yeah," Rami said. He could see how tense she had become at the revelation. "You don't have to say it back or anything. I know it's really early. But I know that I do."

Eleanor pulled Rami into her body and squeezed her arms around him. He repeated the action, feeling Eleanor taking deep breaths. With her head nestled into the crook of his neck, she placed a small kiss on his beard before saying, in barely above a whisper, "Je t'aime aussi, Rami."

XXXXXXXXXX

After the pancakes, Rami began to unpack his suitcase as Eleanor took a shower. Since Rami was technically not supposed to be back until later this afternoon, the day had turned into a day off, and the couple didn't have to do anything except pick Fergal up at the airport around dinner time. Fergal would have been travelling all day, thanks to connecting flights, so Eleanor wanted to surprise him with a nice home cooked meal upon his arrival in Orlando.

As Eleanor and Rami lounged together on his couch, Eleanor was busy on her laptop and Rami was catching up on last night's hockey game. In quiet bliss, Eleanor almost jumped out of her skin when the loud shrill of an incoming FaceTime request blasted through the speakers. On her computer screen, she saw Jean-Philippe's name displayed across the screen. "Here we go," she muttered to herself, knowing there was no way she could deny the request.

"Who is it?" Rami asked as Eleanor accepted the call.

"My brother," Eleanor informed him before sitting up on the couch and adjusting the screen so it was showing her at a flattering angle.

"Helloooooooo little sister," Jean-Philippe's loud voice filled the room as Rami turned down the volume on the TV.

"Helloooooooo annoying brother," Eleanor mimicked him. "Give me a second, I'm going to go into another room." She winked at Rami to let him know he could turn the mute off.

As she rose from the couch, Jean-Philippe noticed the little wink and immediately became skeptical. On cue, he switched immediately to French. _"This doesn't look like your apartment. Where are you? Who are you with? What are you -"_

"Calm down," Eleanor scolded her brother, speaking to him in English. "I'm just at Rami's place. _He's from Montreal, remember? We can't use French as a code language,"_ she finished in French. She turned the laptop towards Rami and he smiled and waved at the camera.

"Hey, Rami! Nice to meet you – sort of," Jean-Philippe greeted him.

"He's catching up on hockey, he doesn't want to talk to you right now," Eleanor smirked.

Rami didn't quite get the joke. Truth be told, Eleanor and Jean-Philippe had a weird dynamic based on insults – a lot of people thought they weren't close or didn't get along, but that was the opposite of what was true. "No! I do!" Rami tried to cover for himself. He didn't want Jean-Philippe thinking anything bad about him – that he wouldn't want to talk to him, or that he was lazy, or anything else. There was plenty Jean-Philippe could find on the Internet, Rami was sure, so he wanted to make sure Jean-Philippe learned from _him_ or Eleanor rather than the internet. "I can catch all this stuff online anyway. Hi Jean-Philippe, it's nice to meet you," he pulled on Eleanor's arm so she would sit down on the couch again. She complied with the request and sat right next to him, adjusting the laptop again so they were both in the screenshot.

"Nice to meet you. You look the same as the pictures on the internet."

Rami gulped. Before he could say anything, Eleanor jumped in. "What do you want, JP?" she asked.

"Mom wants me to remind you about the benefit for the Montreal Children's Hospital in a couple of weeks," Jean-Philippe said. "She thinks you may have forgotten since you haven't mentioned anything."

Eleanor facepalmed. At least she fully understood where she got her type-A personality. "Jesus…she's such a pain sometimes. Of course I'm coming," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Truth be told, it _was_ one of the most obvious things in the world. Eleanor miss one of her mother's parties? Impossible. Her mother would never allow it.

"I thought so," Jean-Philippe shrugged his shoulders. "Hey Rami, want to come too?"

"Rami's got an event that weekend," Eleanor quickly covered.

"No – no I don't think so," Rami countered. "I mean, I have to look at my schedule but I'm pretty sure I don't have anything. I can see if I can make it…if I'm really invited."

" _Of course_ you're really invited," Jean-Philippe confirmed. "Margot and I would like to meet you before things end up getting too hectic for you."

"I'd like to meet you as well. I'm sure the party will be a great opportunity for that," Rami smiled.

Eleanor smirked. She loved him, but Rami had no idea what he was getting himself into.


	13. Chapter 13

_May 2, 2015_

"Are you kidding?"

The first three words out of Rami's mouth as the taxi stopped in front of Desjardins home made Eleanor's stomach churn. The stone exterior of the house could not be ignored, but then again, neither could its size. Its neo-gothic architecture was a remnant from a bygone era – its preservation immaculate. It was one of the biggest in Westmount, and probably one of the houses kept most traditional. Though there were the obvious upgrades (the original house was built before the invention of electricity), the house maintained its original charm and character, especially its façade. Save for preservation work, the exterior was virtually the same as when it had originally been built, and could be proven with photographs. It was the envy of many, who couldn't do the same in their houses.

Rami's eyes were already bulging out of his head, and he hadn't even seen inside yet. Eleanor bit her lip nervously as she watched him ogle the house in front of him after they took their suitcases out of the trunk and paid the taxi driver. She almost didn't want to see or hear his reaction when they finally walked inside. "I told you," she mumbled.

Rami looked at her momentarily. "You did. I just never thought it would be like _this_ ," he said, looking back at the house again. "You know, I'm pretty sure my friends and I would bike and skateboard through this section of Westmount during high school and say one day, when we would all be super-rich, we'd buy this house."

Eleanor held a death grip on her purse; her knuckles were turning white. He really wasn't making the situation better. "You nabbed the girl instead of the house," she commented.

"The house doesn't matter. The girl is always better than the house."

As the couple approached the house, through the long driveway, Eleanor gripped on to Rami's hand securely. "I don't know if my parents will be home – usually by now they're already at the venue making sure everything is running smoothly. So you'll probably be introduced to them at the party, if that's okay. I mean -"

"Stop worrying, darling," Rami said, bringing their hands up and kissing the palm of her hand.

"Jean-Philippe and Margot _might_ be here, though. And if you're lucky, my nieces and nephew," she cracked a small smile. "But we only have like an hour and a half to get ready."

"That'll be easy for me," Rami said. "All I gotta do is shave, shower, and get dressed. You've got hair and makeup and all that jazz to make yourself more beautiful than you already are."

"Smooth," Eleanor quipped as they approached the front entrance. She pulled out her key and stuck it in the lock. "Ready?"

"I was born ready."

To say Rami was not ready would be an understatement. Eleanor believed he was unable to process what he was seeing; so flabbergasted at his surroundings that he didn't believe he was in a real place – a person's _house_ – in Montreal. The wood wainscoting; the crown moulding; the portraits of the Desjardins ancestors who inhabited the house in past generations like you would see on some castle tour in a European country; the concept of a 'drawing room', a 'reception hall', a 'library', a 'conservatory'; the massive renovated eat-in kitchen which was in and around the size of his entire apartment in Orlando. But this was Eleanor's reality: this was the house she grew up in, this was the house Jean-Philippe was going to live in, and the house Henri-Mathieu was going to live in, and where his son was going to live one day. It had housed Desjardins family members for well over one hundred years – probably even more. Despite it not being Rami's reality, he was going to have to get used to it one way or another.

"This is insane," Rami commented as they were back in the front hall, at the foot of the grand staircase. "We haven't even _seen_ the second floor yet…or the third floor! You _grew up_ here?" he pressed.

Eleanor chose not to answer. She looked down at her foot on the first step and then up at the portrait of her great-great grandfather, Edouard Francois Desjardins. "So did he and his family," she nodded her head in the portrait's direction as she began walking up the stairs, "and he and his family," she nodded to the next portrait, "and he and his family," she continued.

"I'm not trying to be mean. I've just never experienced anything like this before," Rami said.

"I know you're not. But just know this is nothing I haven't heard before. All my friends in high school said the same thing. All my university friends who came here said the same thing."

"I don't know how to react. Like, there's no filter between my brain and my mouth right now," Rami tried to explain further.

"It's okay, I get it. If it's any consolation, you're doing it right," she tried to crack a joke. "You're actually verbalizing your thoughts, which is more than I can say for some people who have been through here."

Rami pulled Eleanor close and kissed her on the lips. She dropped her bag and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him more passionately before she let go. "JP and Margot aren't here, or else they would have bothered us during the house tour. We should start getting ready for tonight."

Rami smiled devilishly before kissing Eleanor again, moving to her neck and lips before whispering, "I can think of _one_ way we can start getting ready."

XXXXXXXXXX

"You've _got_ to be kidding me."

Rami was sure his jaw hit the floor when he heard Jean-Philippe tell him how much the benefit was raising for the Montreal Children's Hospital. Jean-Philippe's response was, "Well, it's $10,000 a plate. So a lot."

The introductions went well enough. Eleanor had introduced Rami to Jean-Philippe and Margot in the foyer of the Desjardins house – they had come over so the chauffeured car didn't have to make two stops such a short distance away from each other (Margot and Jean-Philippe lived in their own sprawling mansion just blocks away). They immediately got along, cracking jokes, bonding over everyone's mutual love of the Montreal Canadiens.

Rami had never been to the Ritz-Carleton – he knew where it was, sure, and how decadent it was, but he had never actually been _inside_ farther than the concierge, and even that blew him away. He remembered when he and his friends were young and gallivanting around downtown once when they were twelve or thirteen and tried to use the washrooms in the lobby – they proceeded to get kicked out by concierge security. To be here now, with Eleanor, the girl he loved, at a $10,000 a plate benefit dinner, surrounded by, as Margot worded it, "the who's who of Canadian high society, if you can believe it"…if he had been told at thirteen years old that he would be doing this, he would have never, _ever_ believed it.

Eleanor had Rami's hand in a vice grip as the cocktail hour got into full swing. She was already milking a gin and tonic and had introduced him to some people whose names he already forgot. Eleanor had pointed out her parents, who were mingling happily with their friends, and warned him that they would be all sitting at the same table. Rami wasn't nervous about that – he liked to think that made Eleanor less nervous too.

Eleanor tugged on Rami's sleeve to get his attention. She looked up at him with wide eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I'm great."

"Are you having a good time so far?" she asked.

Rami nodded her head and gave her hand a squeeze of reassurance, taking a sip of his water. "You don't have to worry about me."

"I know, but I still do," she smiled slightly. "I think I always will."

"I guess that's just in your natu-" Rami was cut off by a shriek behind them. The couple turned around to see a brunette with caramel highlights and plentiful eye makeup making her way towards them with her arms outstretched. She practically jumped on Eleanor, squeezing the life out of her.

" _EEEEEELLLEEEEAAANOOORRRRR!"_ the woman shrieked, pulling away for a moment but still keeping Eleanor close. "I can't believe you're _here_!"

"Hey, Vivienne," Eleanor smiled as Vivienne hugged her again. "Of course I'd be here."

"Oh my _God_ , I feel like I haven't seen you in _years_!" Vivienne exclaimed. "Where have you _been_? Is it true that you've been in _Orlando_? Like, in _Florida_?" she asked.

"Yup," Eleanor nodded her head. "I've been working for a company based out of there."

"Oh my _God_ , Eleanor, that's _amazing_!" she shrieked again. Vivienne finally noticed Rami in the corner of her eye and continued with her over-exaggerated words and questions. "Oh my _God_ , is this your boyfriend?! I'm sorry I'm being so rude! I'm Vivienne Lapointe," she stuck out her right hand.

Rami shook it politely and smiled. Eleanor intervened again before Rami could say anything. "This is Rami – we work for the same company down in Florida."

"Sami?" Vivienne heard wrong.

" _Rami_ ," he clarified. "Rami Sebei."

" _Rami Sebei_ …so exotic!" Vivienne looked back at Eleanor, winking. "Oh my God – did you hear that Rocket and I got engaged?"

"You what?!" Eleanor faked surprise. Rami furrowed his eyebrows at the thought that someone named their child 'Rocket'. Vivienne shoved her left hand towards Eleanor, flashing an enormously gaudy looking engagement ring. Eleanor faked astonishment again and looked at the ring from different angles.

As soon as Rami began to think Vivienne was going to shove the engagement ring in his face too, he felt a tug on his arm and saw Margot urge him to follow her. He placed his hand on Eleanor's shoulder to let her know he was being whisked away; Eleanor made sure he was being whisked away by someone she knew, and when she did, she let him go.

"You don't need to be subjected to Vivienne Lapointe," Margot said as she led him to a different part of the room, where he at least hoped Jean-Philippe was.

"Are she and Eleanor good friends?" he asked, thinking that if they were, he should have stayed to get to know her better.

"No. They went to high school together but that's it. Vivienne leeches on to Eleanor. She's got a lot of money too but it's not nearly as old as Eleanor's, so she's really insecure around someone like Eleanor," Margot explained.

Rami huffed. "Does that even matter?"

"In this world, it does."

XXXXXXXXXX

As the party began to wind down, Vivienne Lapointe was nursing her fourth martini at the bar. Or was it fifth? She lost count when she started drinking the wine at the tables during dinner. When she usually got drunk and mingled with people, she was happy go-lucky, excited, and willing to talk to anyone about anything. But tonight, for some reason, she wasn't in that sort of mood. Maybe it was because her fiancé, Richard (whom she affectionately called Rocket, upon his request, because to his claim, his parents named him after Maurice Richard) wasn't here with her tonight; maybe it was because the people she was seated with were boring and didn't share the same joy for life as she did. Either way, the alcohol was numbing the feelings, and she was content with sipping on her martinis until Rocket sent a chauffeur to pick her up.

She surveyed the room to see who was still left at the party and noticed, of course, that Eleanor and her supposed boyfriend were still in attendance, talking with her parents. Photographers who were covering the event sat close to her spot at the bar, looking over their pictures and making comments to each other.

"You get any good ones?" the blonde photographer asked the balding one.

Baldie huffed. "Just the same old, same old. You get any good dirt?"

Blondie shook his head. "None of the younger ones are talking. You'd think Eleanor put tape over all their mouths."

Baldie nodded his head. "You get anything from her?"

"She 'wasn't speaking to media tonight', as always," Blondie used air-quotes. "The privacy shtick is getting old."

"She's with that guy though. The redhead. Is that a friend of her brother's? I heard him speaking perfect French."

"Oh, he's nobody," Vivienne finally piped in, speaking loud enough so the photographers could hear. They both looked her way with extremely inquisitive looks on their faces. "He's just some guy…just some guy named Rami."

"Rami?"

"He works with her down in Orlando," Vivienne revealed.

Blondie smiled at her. "Orlando? So that's where she's been, then?"

"I guess," Vivienne shrugged her shoulders. "He's nobody, like, important. Rami Sebei. Works for the same company."

Blondie and Baldie smiled at each other while Vivienne downed the last of her martini.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Paul, are you kidding me?"

"No kid, I mean it."

Rami couldn't believe was he was hearing. "No. Is this some sort of sick joke?"

Paul laughed on the other end, but to Rami this was no laughing matter. "This isn't a sick joke, Rami. You're gonna answer John Cena's open challenge on Raw this Monday."

Rami slid down the wall he was leaning against in the men's bathroom and put his head in his hands. "Paul…Raw's in Montreal on Monday…I…are you…" Rami couldn't find the words.

"You deserve it, kid. It's the least I can do."

"Paul…" Rami tried to formulate words again.

"Enjoy the rest of the weekend catching up with your hashtag Arab mom and family, okay? I fly into Montreal at 10am on Monday. We'll talk more then."

"Paul _wait_ ," Rami urged, hoping Paul didn't hang up yet – he had a tendency to leave conversations of his own terms.

"Yeah buddy?"

"Thank you," was all Rami could say.

"Anytime, man," Paul said casually.

Rami felt as if Paul didn't understand the sincerity in his words. "No, Paul, I…I mean… _thank you_ ," he stressed.

There was a moment of silence between the two men, Rami's words lingering between them. Rami envisioned Paul smiling his proud smile, as he always did when working and showing off the NXT talent. "I meant what I said, Rami. You deserve it. And it's the least I could do with what you've given NXT these last few years. You're gonna do great things, Rami. This is just the start."


	14. Chapter 14

_Thank you for all your reviews! Keep 'em coming! Enjoy the latest chapter!_

 _XXXXXXXXXX_

 _May 4, 2015_

Eleanor knew Rami would be in a happy mood because Raw was in Montreal tonight, but she didn't think he would be _this_ happy. He was basically bouncing off the walls. She didn't know how to control his energy but, truth be told, she didn't really want to. It was endearing to see him so excited.

Earlier in the day Rami and Eleanor had visited his parents' house for lunch. Rami had told his parents he was bringing Eleanor – _they_ didn't tell _him_ that they had invited the entirety of his "immediate" family over for lunch too. It was like a scene out of the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", except this was My Big Fat Arab Family. Without exaggeration, there were at least 35 or 40 people in the house. Eleanor seemed to revel in the company, although he could tell she was nervous at first. _He_ was overwhelmed, and it was his own family – he could only imagine what she felt when they had stepped into the small foyer and there was a small army of people waiting to hug her.

Eleanor knew his immediate, _immediate_ family would be back tonight – his mom and dad, his two older brothers and their small families, and his younger brothers and their girlfriends – for Raw. Until then, Eleanor was content with watching Rami bounce off the walls, annoying Ben by pronouncing his new ring name, Neville, in a ridiculous English accent.

When a runner called Ben to be somewhere else, Eleanor and Rami were left alone wandering the halls of the Bell Centre. Truth be told, Eleanor knew her way around – she had been in this building more times than she could count and knew all of its secret passageways and routes to get to media and locker rooms that the Montreal Canadiens had at their disposal.

Eleanor looked at Rami, his eyes wide as they made their way through a particular corridor which held many photographs from the 1970s dynasty team. "Are you excited about tonight?" she asked, filling the silence void.

"I'm pumped."

Eleanor smiled. "Is your family bummed they won't be able to see your wrestle tonight?" she asked, unaware of Paul's phone call during the benefit. Rami wanted to leave it as surprise for the night of.

Rami smirked mischievously as he continued to look at Eleanor. "Ah…about that…" he began.

"What?"

"Paul called me the night of the benefit and told me I'd be debuting tonight," he said in a soft voice, still not believing the fact.

Eleanor stopped dead in her tracks as the news was revealed. She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, trying to process what he had just said. "What do you _mean_ you're debuting on Raw tonight?!" Eleanor demanded.

"I'm _debuting_ ," Rami stressed, his smiled wide.

" _Rami!_ " Eleanor exclaimed, jumping on him and squeezing him. She kissed him quickly and kept exclaiming, "Oh my God! Oh my God!" as she hugged him. His arms squeezed around her, holding her frame against hers. "Why didn't you tell me?!" she demanded.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Rami shrugged his shoulders.

"You Samsquantch! This is the best surprise ever!" they finally let go of each other. "I can't believe you were able to keep it a secret until now."

"It was really hard," Rami admitted as they continued walking down the hallway. Eleanor looked at him with a spark in her eyes – the announcement officially got her excited as well. "I'm answering Cena's open challenge."

Eleanor stopped in her tracks again, pouting as she heard the words come out of his mouth. "But…that means you'll lose," she said, disappointed.

"Yeah, I know, but that doesn't matter," Rami said. "I'm debuting on Raw in front of a hometown crowd against John Cena for a title. Regardless of the outcome, I can't think of a better introduction, you know?"

Eleanor grabbed Rami's face between her hands and kissed him quickly again. "I'm so proud of you, Rami. You deserve it," she whispered.

Rami kissed her back, grabbing her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers briefly. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too."

"ELEANOR!" a loud voice was heard from down the hallway. Both Eleanor and Rami looked to see a smiling Fergal, seemingly as giddy as Rami, looking at a picture on the wall. "Come quick! Look!" he waved them over.

Eleanor thanked her lucky stars that it was Fergal who caught them – in the excitement of Rami's announcement, she didn't even think twice about the kiss and other displays of affection; even though it was a while until show time, there was still talent lurking throughout the corridors. Rami and Eleanor made their way towards Fergal, who was pointing at something on the wall.

"Look at the portrait of this guy! He has the same last name as you!" Fergal said. "What are the chances?!"

Eleanor and Rami looked towards the portrait on the wall to see the portrait of the famous Etienne Mathieu Desjardins, the man who 'saved' the Montreal Canadiens during the Great Depression – he also happened to be Eleanor's great-grandfather. "Desjardins is a popular French-Canadian last name, Fergal," she smiled.

"There's no relation, is there?"

Eleanor stiffened – Rami could tell. Fergal had no idea. "No. At least I don't think so."

"Huh," Fergal smiled, looking between Eleanor and the portrait again, repeating, "Can't believe it. What are the chances?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor was sitting with Fergal, watching as John Cena was cutting his promo for his open challenge – she knew Rami was due any minute. The crowd was absolutely electric, already chanting "Ole" and other things for Rami, not just from the beginning of the promo. Fergal was enjoying watching an antsy Eleanor mutter under her breath "Come on, John, let's get it going" every time he started a new sentence. Her reactions were almost more entertaining than what was currently going on in the ring.

When Bret Hart's music hit, Eleanor shot up in her seat and her jaw hit the floor. She looked at Fergal for some sort of answer; Fergal just laughed and shook his head at her. "What's he doing here? _What's he doing here?!"_ she kept demanding of Fergal.

"You're the one that works for Paul, Maple! Didn't he tell you he was coming?"

"NO!" Eleanor exclaimed. "Does Rami know?!"

"I've got no idea."

"He's probably freaking the fuck out right now. Definitely shitting his pants. His childhood hero is about the introduce him to his hometown crowd?! I can't believe this!"

"He's a lucky lucky boy that Rami," Fergal smiled.

Heath Slater's delay made Eleanor even antsier. She was about to go out to the ring herself to punch Slater but luckily Bret Hart did that for her. Her eyes started to well up when Bret Hart continued his introduction and the crowd started to get even wilder.

"You gonna be okay, Maple?" Fergal patted her on her shoulder, leaving his hand there.

"No," Eleanor admitted. "I'm gonna be a blubbering mess by the end of this. I don't know if I'm gonna make it."

When Rami's music hit and the crowd went absolutely ballistic, Eleanor's emotions got the best of her, and tears started to fall down her cheeks. As the match got underway, Eleanor noticed the problems Rami's shoulder was giving him, and she began to get worried. She officially went into panic mode when the medic entered the ring. "Fergal, is that kayfabe?" she asked.

"I don't know," Fergal admitted, not taking his eyes off the screen.

" _Fergal_ , it _has_ to be kayfabe. He _can't_ be injured, not in his debut match," Eleanor pressed. "You have to tell me if it's kayfabe or not."

"I will, Maple, but I can't tell."

The through-the-bottom-ropes-tornado DDT, the Blue Thunder Bomb – each move made Eleanor more proud than the second before. But as the match progressed and Rami and John kept working through spot by spot, Eleanor didn't need Fergal to tell her anymore whether or not it was kayfabe: she knew something was wrong. Whether it was a full-blown injury or something that was just hurting him, she could tell something was off. Fergal assured her not to worry, but every time she saw Rami wince in pain, she couldn't help but do exactly that – worry.

When the match was over, Fergal led Eleanor the short distance to the area just outside of gorilla, where many other Superstars were waiting for Rami. Eleanor saw Colby, Jon, Claudio, Natalya and TJ, Ben, and some other NXT alumni like Xavier Woods and Adam Rose. Dusty, Pat Patterson and Paul were all waiting too. When John Cena came though the curtain, the group clapped politely and John acknowledged it, but even he took a spot in the group to congratulate Rami.

The second Rami came through the curtain the group exploded in applause and calls of admiration; Rami couldn't believe it and stood in his spot, leaning over and wiping tears from his eyes with his good arm. Cesaro approached him first, patting him on the back and giving him a long, hard hug while whispering words in his ear. Next to hug him was Colby, who did much of the same thing, followed by Jon, who said some words that made Rami laugh.

Eleanor was getting impatient. Rami had seen her in the crowd of people and then had locked eyes for a brief moment before he was pulled into a hug. He had been holding his bad arm the entire time and all she wanted to do was hug him, kiss him, ask him if everything was okay, tell him that she was proud of him, that he did amazing – what everyone was doing now, really, but she liked to think it would mean a lot coming from her. She stood inconspicuously behind Fergal, and when he was finished with Fergal – one of the last to congratulate him in the group – she lunged herself at him, hugging him tightly. In her impatience she hadn't noticed that Paul hadn't said his congratulations yet. He looked at the scene amusingly and with a little bit of shock; he never thought he'd see the day when Eleanor would fully hug a sweaty wrestler in her nice clothes.

Rami squeezed back just as hard, and for the moment, the pain radiating from his shoulder subdued when he knew Eleanor was in his arms. Eleanor was forgoing her rule of no-contact, and Rami couldn't be happier. He knew she wouldn't kiss him in front of everybody or anything, but getting this hug from her made him the happiest man in the world for a brief moment. "I'm _so_ proud of you," she said as they continued to hug each other. "You did amazing. _So_ amazing Rami."

"Thank you," he said as they finally pulled away from each other. It was then when Eleanor saw the bemused look on Paul's face. She looked away embarrassingly before flattening out her shirt and blazer and taking a step back from the commotion. She could feel Rami's sweat on the fabric of her blouse as she watched him shake hands with Paul and exchange a few words – mostly Paul repeating 'phenomenal' over and over again before asking about the pain in his shoulder. Doctors were already lurking in the background; when Paul waved them over, they immediately started asking Rami questions and began to lead him off to a medical room where they could look at him more carefully. Rami shot Eleanor another look before following the doctors.

Eleanor looked to Fergal for solace. "Don't worry Maple. He'll be okay."

XXXXXXXXXX

Lurking in the same corridor as the medical rooms, Eleanor waited until the doctors had left the room, walked off, and were out of sight before she tiptoed quickly down the hallway and snuck into the medical room. Upon entering, hoping to get Rami alone, she quickly realized that they weren't alone at all – one doctor was still in the room, wrapping Rami's shoulder and arm. Her eyes bulged out of her head for a brief second as both the doctor and Rami looked towards the door. "Devitt sent me in here…he wanted to see how you were doing," Eleanor covered, using all the self-restraint she had to not walk over to Rami, push the doctor aside, and kiss him.

The doctor laughed before Rami could answer. "You can tell Mr. Devitt he can come on in when he wants. My job here is done," the doctor said, finishing wrapping the bandage. He stood up from his seat and looked at Rami. "No strenuous activity. I'll get you booked in for that MRI, okay? If it's what I think it is, it's easily fixable."

"Thanks, doc," Rami said as the doctor cleaned up the small mess he'd made. He made his way out the door and the second the door clicked shut, Eleanor ran over to Rami and kissed him passionately. He returned the sentiment with equal passion and pulled Eleanor closer. Eleanor pulled away first, her hands on either side of Rami's face as she looked deep into his eyes. She kissed him quickly and lightly. "You don't even know how proud I am of you right now," she whispered quickly, not wanting her lips to be off of his for long. She kissed him again. "I can't believe Bret Hart was there," _kiss_ , "that crowd," _kiss_ , "they were electric," _kiss_ , "and you!" _kiss_ , "and your tornado DDT!" _kiss_ , "I couldn't believe it!"

Rami laughed and licked his lips. "I love you so much," he whispered, giving her another kiss. "I'm so happy you're here. Thank you for being here."

"I couldn't imagine being anywhere else," Eleanor said, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him. He winced at the pressure she inadvertently put on his shoulder.

Eleanor gasped as the pain she caused. "Are you in a lot of pain?" she asked.

Rami sighed. "Yeah…a bit. It's better now that you're here. You take my mind off of it," he admitted.

"The doctor said he's booking you for an MRI," Eleanor brought up the last words of the doctor.

"I felt it pop in the ring. I think I dislocated it but the doctors seem to think it might be the rotator cuff. Remember how I told you I have a history of it bothering me?" Eleanor nodded her head, placing her hand on his shoulder and massaging it gently. "I hope…I hope it's nothing serious," Rami confessed. Eleanor could sense the fear in his voice. "Not now, you know? Not now."

"Whatever it is, I'm gonna be here to help you," Eleanor said, kissing him again. "Whatever it is Rami, you're gonna get through it. You'll be even better."

A quick knock and a push of the door later, Fergal burst through and immediately took in the situation in front of him. "What's the prognosis, Rambo?"

"I need an MRI."

Fergal could tell he didn't want to talk about it, so he let it slide – he knew Rami would tell him on his own time. "Renee needs you for an interview."

Rami nodded his head as Eleanor back away and let him stand. Before he could leave, Fergal wiggled his eyebrows at Rami and Eleanor, intent on ribbing them to insert some light-heartedness into the situation. "I always find you two in medical rooms. You've _gotta_ find a more romantic location, Rami, I'm telling you."

Rami laughed out loud, not expecting the rib, and Eleanor shook her head at Fergal facetiousness. "Put your money where your mouth is Fergal – get a nice _bird_ and maybe we'll start listening to you!" she exclaimed, using some Irish slang.

"I'll have you know I've charmed the pants off many women in the Orlando area with my accent alone. Rami may speak French but nobody can resist a sexy Irish accent."


	15. Chapter 15

_I got my inspiration for the last scene from this video…I think it's the cutest thing in the world! watch?v=KUGkUhqtvU0_

 _Please review!_

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _May 13, 2015_

As the words escaped from the Dr. Weston's mouth, Rami couldn't quite register them correctly. It was as if, suddenly, English became a foreign language, and he needed the doctor to repeat himself slowly, in a louder voice, so the message was clearer. Rami had heard the words, but he didn't quite internalize them – truth be told, he didn't _want_ to internalize them.

" _I'm sorry, Mr. Sebei, but it doesn't look good. You'll require surgery on your shoulder."_

The doctor thought Rami looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Are…are you sure?" Rami asked.

"I'm positive. Your injury is more severe than we initially thought. The rotator cuff is a delicate area – simple physiotherapy won't help at all. We need to repair it from within and follow up with physiotherapy if you really want this not to be an issue for a long, long time," Dr. Weston explained.

Rami dreaded the next question he had to ask. "How long?"

"The surgery won't take long, a maximum of two hours, really, and -"

"No," Rami interrupted him. "I mean how long will I be out for?"

Dr. Weston sighed heavily. He looked to his clipboard to avoid eye contact with Rami, because he knew that to Rami, as a professional athlete, this next bit would be even more upsetting than the revelation that he needed surgery. "Six months, Rami."

Rami's breath caught in his throat as he shut his eyes and pinched them with his fingers to stop the tears. He was speechless. After the biggest debut of his life, all of his momentum was cut short, just like that. He tried not to get too emotional in front of the doctor, but he couldn't help the anger and frustration seeping through his voice. "I've heard of guys coming back after two, three months? Why are they so quick?"

"Ask them how long it was until their shoulder started bothering them again," Dr. Weston said rhetorically. "I'm not taking any chances with you Rami. I know it's tough to hear but you've got to let this properly heal if you ever want to wrestle as well as you always do. Those guys that go back after three months? They're looking at surgery after surgery after surgery in their near futures because they couldn't be patient the first time. I'm not that doctor. I'm not clearing you after three months."

"I understand," Rami nodded his head. Dr. Weston was right in everything he said – Rami didn't want to be one of those guys. He didn't want to take shortcuts that only led to more health problems down the line. If he had to go through with this surgery and the fallout, he was going to listen to everything the doctor said and do everything by the book. He was never one to take chances on his own health, and he wasn't going to start now.

"We're gonna do this, and we're gonna do this right," Dr. Weston declared.

"Yes we are," Rami agreed, nodding his head. "Sorry about my tone before. I wasn't trying to undermine you or -"

"You don't need to apologize Rami. You took the news remarkably well. I've had a lot worse reactions in here," Dr. Weston smiled before looking back down at his clipboard. "Now, I don't particularly like doing this, but for your match I'm giving you a numbing agent so you don't feel a lot of pain – I understand your opponent is someone you've wrestled a lot with before?

"Yes."

"Do you trust him to keep you safe in the ring?"

"Absolutely."

"I'll take your word for it. But remember the numbing agent isn't going to make you invincible. You need to work mostly with your legs, okay? Don't aggravate your shoulder. And the match has to be short."

"It will be, don't worry," Rami said. "My boss figured I'd need to take some time off, so I'm basically getting the shit kicked out of me for five minutes and then another guy is gonna debut."

"Well, when you're getting the shit kicked out of you, make sure you're not getting the shit kicked out of your shoulder," Dr. Weston warned again. "I'll be speaking with Paul after you leave to give him this information. Then I'm going to call the office in Birmingham and book you in for the surgery."

"Sounds good, doctor. Thank you for all your help," Rami shook his hand as he stood up from his seat.

"You're welcome, Rami. You keep safe and I'll talk to you later," Dr. Weston opened the door of his office to let Rami out.

XXXXXXXXXX

Up close Rami could appreciate why Eleanor kept a spare perfume bottle in her desk at the Performance Centre; being around sweaty men all day meant that smelling like them at any given moment could become an inevitable truth. But with his head buried in the crook of her neck, he smelled nothing but her intoxicating scent. With his arms wrapped around her and her body squeezed against his as she sat on his lap on the couch, he thought to himself that there was no place he would rather be.

He still hadn't said anything to her, though she had been there however long – whenever they had these intimate moments together it seemed like time stood still, and Rami never knew if five minutes or five hours passed. She had come in carrying a bag of takeout Chinese, but all he wanted was to be close to her. He said a quick hello, devoid of emotion, and beckoned her over to the couch, where she climbed on top of him and assumed the position they were in now. There were no sounds throughout the apartment except the sound of their breathing and the occasional scream from a child playing in the courtyard pool.

"I love it when it's like this," Rami whispered absent-mindedly, his lips grazing the sensitive skin on Eleanor's neck. "Just you and me…nobody else. Just us."

"Me too."

"I could stay like this forever, you know."

"Me too."

Rami inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with her signature scent. "I have to have surgery," he said in barely above a whisper.

Eleanor didn't respond at first. Like him, she needed a moment to process the information. "How bad is it?"

Rami grimaced at the question. "I'm gonna be out six months."

At the revelation of the news, Eleanor moved from her position; instead of her head being on Rami's good shoulder, she was looking at him straight in the face. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. "I'm gonna be here to help you through it all," she declared, grazing her thumbs over his lips.

"I know you will."

"When's your surgery?"

"I'll probably know tomorrow when I go in for my match," he said.

"You're still going through with your match?" she asked, shock and anger evident in her voice.

"I have to. It's gonna be a squash because Samoa Joe is debuting. The doctor is going to numb my shoulder beforehand so it doesn't hurt as much. And I trust Kevin to keep me safe," Rami said.

He could see Eleanor was not satisfied with that answer at all, but instead of anger he saw fear in her eyes. "Rami, I don't want you hurting it more," she said in a worried tone.

"I'm going to be okay. Don't worry about me."

Eleanor nuzzled her head into the crook of Rami's neck again. "That's impossible, and you know it," she mumbled.

There was a moment of silence between the couple as the words lingered in the air. Eleanor had broken her arm once, when she was young, but she never had to go through a surgery. Just the sight of blood made her weak; she couldn't even imagine being sliced open without squirming. "Are you scared?" she whispered.

Rami took a moment to answer. "A little bit."

XXXXXXXXXX

 _May 20 , 2015_

"I don't care how long they've been friends…if Kevin makes his shoulder worse he's gonna have me to deal with. I'm not as happy-go-lucky as Rami," Eleanor muttered into her phone.

On the other end of the phone Margot laughed, knowing that Eleanor was serious about Kevin having to deal with her. Eleanor was fiercely protective of those she loved, so Margot didn't doubt Eleanor would take on Kevin if something were to happen. "I believe you."

"It'll be like the second Battle of Quebec. Vince could make money off of it if he put in on the network."

"Eleanor, these men have been wrestling together for like what? Thirteen years? They know what they're doing. He won't injure him."

Eleanor sat in a chair, alone in a small room with a monitor, watching the match take place. "He better not," she muttered again. Every time Rami was hit by Kevin she had to look away from the screen. She knew he was passionate about wrestling, but why he agreed to wrestle injured, she had no idea. It was one of the things about Rami – about the wrestling business as a whole – she would never understand: why people would continue to perform, knowing they're hurt.

"How are things going with you two, anyway?" Margot asked, trying to divert Eleanor's mind off of the match at hand. "Any updates I should know about?"

Eleanor thought for a moment before she answered, "It's going great…for the first time I can honestly say things are going amazing. It's uh…it's a really nice feeling, you know?"

"Well, you deserve it," Margot chipped in. "I'm glad things are going well."

"We've even already said the three magic words."

"Already?!"

"Yeah…he really meant it, too," Eleanor bit her lip, remembering the circumstance.

"Did you?"

"Of course I did!" Eleanor exclaimed. "I wouldn't have said something so serious if I didn't mean it! Especially to someone who means so much to me. It would be awful of me to say it back if I didn't mean it. I've been on that receiving end and it's not nice," she elaborated.

"Alright, alright, I just wanted to make sure."

XXXXXXXXXX

 _May 26, 2015_

Eleanor had been waiting impatiently in the waiting room while Rami was in surgery. She lied and told Paul she needed the time off to take care of some things in Montreal, and he gave her the time without hesitation. Instead, she took a flight to Birmingham, helped Rami mentally prepare for his surgery, and now found herself waiting for any word from the doctor. She had managed to steer clear of any WWE cameras that were on site, filming some footage for NXT and the WWE website, and once they left, she was free to roam the halls without fear of getting caught. The lengths she took seemed ridiculous as she looked back on them, but it was all in the name of privacy. Rami assured her the doctor wouldn't say a word.

Before she could continue any train of thought, the doors swung open and the surgeon, Dr. Dugas, walked through the doors. "Hello, miss," he spoke through his facemask. "You're here for Rami?"

Eleanor nodded her head. "How is he doing?"

Dr. Dugas removed the facemask he was wearing and smiled. "The surgery was very successful. We're expecting a full recovery."

Eleanor beamed at the news. She knew it wasn't going to be an extremely complicated surgery, but it still made her nervous. "Can I see him?"

"I can bring you in, yes," he agreed as he motioned for her to begin walking through the doors with him. "Truth be told, this is actually my favourite part…it can get quite funny. The anesthesia has yet to fully wear off so he may not remember where he is. It happens with many patients."

Eleanor chuckled as she followed him down the hallway. "Oh, this should be good. How long is he going to stay for?"  
"Not long at all – he'll be out by tonight. We just have to make sure the anesthesia wears off, then we're going to make sure he can move his fingers, prescribe pain medication, outline his physiotherapy procedure, and he's out the door," the doctor explained. "He'll be in a sling and shoulder immobilizer, and he's going to need to wear them longer than he's going to like, so you need to make sure he listens."

"I don't think Rami will take it off before he knows he's ready to," Eleanor admitted. "He doesn't want to sabotage the healing process."

"Good. I'm going to worry a little bit less tonight," he said, stopping in front of a door. "I'll give you a few minutes with him but then I'll need to get back in there."

"No problem Dr. Dugas. Thank you so much for letting me see him," Eleanor thanked him politely as he swung open the door for her. Rami was in a private room, hooked up to monitors. She could already see the sling and shoulder immobilizer that was on him. She approached him slowly – it looked like he was falling in and out of sleep, looking around the room each time he opened his eyes.

"Hi Rami," she said softly, smiling as she stood at the side of the bed, looking down at him. He definitely had a confused look on his face as he looked her way, hearing her voice.

"My shoulder hurts," he said matter-of-factly. His voice was scraggly, his throat probably dry from the lack of water. Like for any surgery, he wasn't allowed to drink anything for the previous twelve hours.

"I know. You just had surgery," she said.

He looked at her skeptically. "Are you a doctor?"

And there it was. He had no idea who she was. She giggled as he continued to look at her confusingly. "No, I'm not a doctor."

"Did the doctor send you here for me?" he asked again.

"Kind of."

"Who are you?"

Eleanor bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. "My name is Eleanor…I'm your girlfriend."

Rami's eyes bulged out of his head. "What? You're _my_ girlfriend?"

"Yup."

"Are you _kidding_ me?"

"No, sweetie."

Rami's mouth gaped open at the revelation. " _I_ managed to land someone as beautiful as _you_?" he asked.

"I guess so."  
"Oh my _God_ I hit the _**jackpot**_!" he exclaimed. Eleanor couldn't help it; she snorted in laughter. "You're beautiful. What did you say your name was?"

"Eleanor."

"Eleanor. What a beautiful name. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

Eleanor smiled as she felt Dr. Dugas approach behind her. "Rami, Eleanor has to leave now, okay?" he said, smiling. He had witnessed the entire interaction from the door.

"But I just met her!" he argued.

"Eleanor is going to be back to pick you up and bring you to your hotel," Dr. Dugas explained.

Rami looked at Eleanor and pointed to her, as if he was holding her accountable for the doctor's statement. "Do you promise Eleanor? Promise to come back and get me?"

"I promise, Rami," Eleanor said, grabbing his hand and giving it a quick squeeze. She looked to Dr. Dugas and thanked him again before focusing her attention back on Rami. "I'll see you soon, okay? Next time you see me, you'll remember me."

"I hope so," Rami said earnestly as Eleanor walked towards the door. As they closed behind her, she heard Rami ask Dr. Dugas, "Did you know _she's_ my _girlfriend_?" to which Dr. Dugas said yes enthusiastically. Before she was completely out of earshot, another comment: "Man, I must have done _something_ right."


	16. Chapter 16

_June 3, 2015_

Rami was just about on his last nerve with the situation he found himself in.

He fully acknowledged that he wasn't the best cook in the world, but at least before when he cooked he had two working arms and hands that could handle ingredients, stir food, pour drinks, and fold napkins. Now he was down to one functional arm and he was ready to rip off his brace for the sole purpose of cutting his food. The frustration was unnerving. Every night for the past week Eleanor had come at night to make him meals for the next day; meals he could easily reheat in the oven or microwave; meals where he didn't need to use a fork and knife – because she would pre-cut his food for him. While he was grateful for her effort – she took it upon herself to do so and his gratitude was through the roof – he didn't want her taking time out of her busy schedule to do such mundane things for him. He knew she had a lot of work to do, like early Summerslam preparation, and if she was doing all this for him, that gave her less time to focus on her work – on something that actually mattered. The last thing he wanted to be was a burden, and only one week after surgery, he was already starting to feel like a burden.

In his kitchen, Rami had been watching the chicken strips heat up in the pan, seasoned with a blend Eleanor wouldn't reveal to Rami ("It's a Desjardins recipe," she would say, "and if I told you I'd have to kill you."). Eleanor was in his bedroom hanging his clothes and folding his laundry. He took a knife out, ready to slice open one of the chicken strips to see if it was fully cooked. With the slip of the knife against the hot pan right through the chicken strip, Rami panicked as one half of the strip went flying; the hand holding the knife moved to try and catch it, but in the process it ended up hitting the handle of the pan, flipping it over completely and having it crash down onto the floor. The pan hit the ground with a loud crash, sending Rami screaming. "Fuck!"

"Rami?!" he heard Eleanor call from the bedroom frantically. "Rami? Is everything okay?" she called, running from his room.

"Everything is fucking _grand_ ," he replied sarcastically, tossing the knife onto the counter in defeat.

"What happened?" she asked, approaching the situation. She looked down to see the chicken all over the floor.

"I tried to cut a stupid piece of chicken and shit went flying everywhere," he said angrily. "It's fucking bullshit."

"It's okay Rami, don't worry. It's no big deal," she waved it off, crouching down to pick up the pan.

"It is a big deal. I can't even cut a stupid piece of chicken."

"You could have called me to come check on it. I'm here for you, you know," she reiterated to him for what felt like the thousandth time as she started to pick up the fallen chicken strips. Rami was a sweetheart, but at times he could be stubborn – this was one of those times. Eleanor loved to help people, but it seemed Rami thought she was doing this out of some sort of obligation, when she wasn't.

"I can't believe I've going to have to live like this," he said angrily. "I can't even fucking do shit on my own!"

"It's okay, Rami...I don't mi-"

"IT'S NOT OKAY!" he exclaimed, throwing the dishtowel he was holding towards the backsplash. "This is ridiculous! I'm a grown man and for the next God-knows-how-long I'm gonna need my girlfriend and best friends to fucking cook and even _cut_ my foot for me!"

Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows. She'd had enough of Rami's sour attitude. Yes, he found himself in a shit situation, and yes, she knew having his arm in a sling frustrated him to no end because he wasn't able to do even simple tasks. Regardless, there was no reason for his attitude, no reason for the backtalk. "What's so bad about that, huh? What's so bad about it?" she demanded, her voice harsh. "We're doing it because we love you, Rami. Because we _care_ about you. Because we know if we were in that position, you'd be doing the same thing for us."

"You don't understand. I've fended for myself since I was eighteen years old. I had no-one helping me for twelve years," Rami said.

"Let me play you the world's smallest violin, Rami," Eleanor said sarcastically. "A lot of people have been going on in life alone for a lot longer than you. And in a lot worse conditions. You should consider yourself fortunate to have people around you who are willing to do these things for you."

"Whatever. I don't need this right now," Rami muttered under his breath.

Eleanor looked at him defiantly. She couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth, and the tone he was using – the _tone_! – was disgusting. She stood up quickly and threw the chicken she had picked up violently into the sink. "Fine. _Whatever_ ," she repeated his sentiment, in a similarly vicious tone. "I'm not going to waste my time here if you don't _need this right now_ ," she said, turning on her hells and stomping out of the kitchen.

"What? No – Eleanor, no wait, wait," his tone suddenly changed as Eleanor slipped on her shoes. "Eleanor!"

"Call me when you've stopped being such a baby," Eleanor swung open the door and slammed it behind her.

XXXXXXXXXX

 **Hey bud, is Eleanor in today? - Rami**

 _Uh…I would assume so? -Fergal_

 **You haven't seen her? -Rami**

 _No but I've been training all day. -Fergal_

 **Let me know, please? -Rami**

 _Have you talked to Rami recently? - Fergal_

 **Who wants to know? - Eleanor**

 _He was texting me asking if you're working today…thought that if you two had talked, he'd already know. - Fergal_

 **Of course I'm at work. I can't just not come in. -Eleanor**

 _She's at work…locked up in the office I guess. - Fergal_

 **Can you give her a message for me? - Rami**

"I am _not_ getting in the middle of this," Fergal deadpanned into the phone. After Rami's last message, he garnered a good idea of what was going on and called him immediately, refusing to text. "I want no part in this whatsoever."

"Fergal."

"No."

"Fergie-Ferg."

" _No_."

"Fergalicious."

"No amount of pet names is going to get me to do your dirty work."

"It's not my dirty work," Rami protested.

"If you haven't talked to her, you need to fix it. What even happened?" Fergal asked.

"We had a fight yesterday because I was an asshole," Rami didn't feel like elaborating much. "That's the gist of it."

"Then fix it."

"Easier said than done."

"No – it's quite simple actually. You apologize for being an asshole and you two makeup."

"I -"

"It's _that_ simple," Fergal hung up the phone.

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor hadn't talked to Rami all day. She refused to text him to see how he was doing. Even after Fergal had asked her if they'd spoken that day, she still didn't bother to text. For all she knew, Rami was still in a pissy mood, and she wanted nothing to do with it. She knew she was going to have to talk to him soon, but right now, she was just focused on folding her laundry.

As she started folding the last towel, a knock on the door echoed through her apartment. She looked at the door, confused for a moment, since she was expecting nobody. When the person on the other side knocked again, it clicked in her mind that it was Rami.

When she opened the door, she saw his body standing there, and he had covered his face with a bouquet of colourful flowers. "Oooh Eleanor, I am so sorryyyy…for being an ass…I am dumb…will you aaaacept…my apology…you are the best girlfriend aliiiive, and I -" he began to sing in a purposely bad voice and to a tune he made up on the spot.

Eleanor cut him off by grabbing the flowers and pushing them down gently so she could see Rami's face. As it was revealed to her, she saw him looking back at her with a worried face. "Hello," he said silently.

"Come in," she said, allowing him through the door and into her apartment. He handed her the flowers and she lay them down on her kitchen countertop – she wasn't concerned with them right now.

Rami grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her towards him, their bodies pressed against each other. She looked up at him, waiting. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry I was such a brat." Eleanor stayed silent. She knew she would accept his apology whenever he gave it, but she also knew that wouldn't be enough for her. For someone like Rami to act the way he did, there had to be something else – another piece to the puzzle of why he was acting up. "Can I kiss you now?" he asked timidly.

"What was that yesterday?" she asked, not answering his question.

Rami sighed heavily. "Do you really want to hear it all?" he asked.

"Of course I do!" Eleanor responded forcefully. "Rami, I want you to be able to talk to me about these things…about your health and your career and what you're feeling," she said, loosening herself from his grip so she could jump up and sit on her countertop.

Rami positioned himself between her legs, standing as close as he could to her. He diverted his eyes as he began speaking. "I just…I got thinking about my career," he started, before Eleanor grabbed his face and made him look her in the eye. He stopped talking.

"And?"

Rami took a moment to try and find the words. "You know how in The Graduate, Ben is at that party when he gets back from university, and there are all these people there asking him that inevitable question that acts as a theme for the whole movie – what next? – and he doesn't know how to answer?"

Eleanor nodded her head.

"I feel like I'm there again. I don't know what's next in my career," he admitted.

"Rami…you're gonna bounce back."

"Am I?

"Of course you are!"

Rami sighed. "When I went to the doctor the other day, he told me I wouldn't be wrestling for the rest of the year. That news…that news just really hit me," Rami confessed. "I've been fending for myself since I was seventeen…earning money for myself since I was seventeen…providing for myself since I was seventeen. I'm not used to people caring about me enough to cut my food so I can eat it."

"Rami…"

"I love you Eleanor. I love you so much that I don't want you dropping everything to wait on me hand and foot, especially for however long this shoulder is gonna put me out. I feel so bad when you cook and clean for me and I'm just there spilling all the chicken on the floor."

Eleanor hugged him tightly, making sure not to hurt his shoulder. "Rami, I told you yesterday…I do this stuff because I love you too. I don't want to see you struggling."

"I'm just…I'm not used to it. Even when I was growing up, in the middle of five boys, there was a lot of fending for myself." There was a moment of silence between the couple. "I just don't want you to feel obligated to do things for me. If you're too busy or you just simply don't want to, you don't have to at all," he said definitively. "The last thing I want is for you to become bitter, or to think I'm ungrateful."

Eleanor grabbed Rami's hands and squeezed them. She leaned in and finally kissed him. "I'm not bitter, okay? I never will be. You have nothing to worry about," she said. Rami nodded his head. "I need you to get rid of all those negative thoughts in your little head, okay?" she said, making Rami smile slightly. "Promise?"

"Promise, he said, kissing her. "I love you."

"I love you too," she said, gazing into his eyes as he licked his lips. "I want you here tonight."

"I'm not going anywhere," Rami said, kissing her again.


	17. Chapter 17

_I apologize for the long wait! I started a new job and things got hectic. Hope you all enjoy!_

 _There's some light use of French-Canadian in this chapter. "Tante" is the proper form of "aunt" while "Tatie" is something more like "Aunty"._

 _June 24, 2015_

Eleanor knew Henri's birthday in Montreal would bring out the best in Rami, especially after the emotional rollercoaster that was Dusty's passing and funeral.

The announcement of Dream's passing hit Rami hard. Paul had ushered everybody who worked at the Performance Centre – talent, trainers, staff – into the lounge, where everyone stood like sardines in a can, waiting. When he revealed the news, there was not a dry eye in the room, including Rami. Paul let everyone have the day off, to take time to grieve, to recollect themselves after the horrible news. Within fifteen minutes everybody was gone. Rami took his time to reminisce and wrote a beautiful memorial to Dream that he shared on Twitter, as did many other WWE Superstars. She attended Dream's funeral in Tampa with Rami, Fergal, Pamela (Bayley) and Rebecca (Becky Lynch), paying her respects to a figure she came to know and love.

Rami's physiotherapy had been going well, even though he still wasn't allowed out of his sling. He had gotten better at maneuvering around with it, so he wasn't as frustrated by it as he was in his earlier days. If all went according to plan, it would be off within the next few weeks and he could begin proper physiotherapy; it would also mean he could cook and cut his own food, fold his own laundry, make his own bed. He didn't think he would ever say it, but he was excited to do such mundane tasks again.

Jean-Philippe had picked up the couple from the airport and was driving them straight to the local community arena in Westmount where Henri's birthday party would be held. Every year, regardless of what movie-themed birthday was popular, Henri only ever wanted to do one thing: skate. Like a true Canadian, all he wanted to do was play hockey with his friends in the summertime, and that was exactly what he did.

Once Rami and Eleanor arrived at the arena, Jean-Philippe disappeared to help Margot set up the food and snacks table – some of Henri's friends and their parents had already arrived and were skating around the ice. Eleanor put her own skates on before lacing up Rami's, and within minutes they were both on the ice. When Henri noticed their presence, his face lit up.

"Tatie Eleanor! You came!" he screamed as he skated over to them as quickly as he could from his end of the ice. Eleanor had begun skating towards him too, swooping him up in her arms and showering him with kisses. "Not in front of my friends!" he complained.

"Of course I would come! I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Eleanor exclaimed, putting him back down on the ice. Henri looked over to Rami and smiled as he glided towards him on his skates. "Hi Mr. Sebei. I'm so happy you are here," he said as he hugged him.

Rami bent down on one knee and hugged Henri. "Thanks buddy. Thank you for inviting me to come."

Henri noticed the giant sling on Rami's shoulder and furrowed his eyebrows. "Is that for when you got hurt?" he said, feeling the hardness of the material.

Rami nodded his head. "Yes it is. I had to get surgery on my shoulder. But don't worry, it's already getting better," he said, not wanting the boy to worry too much.

"Are you gonna be able to play hockey with me?" Henri asked, and in that moment Rami could swear his heart broke.

" _Of course_ I'm gonna be able to play hockey with you!" he exclaimed in a playful voice. "What, are you kidding? _Me_ , not play hockey? You're crazy!"

"Are you sure? I don't want you to hurt it again Mr. Sebei."

"You bet your bottom dollar we're gonna be able to play hockey together. We have to show each other our mad skills on this ice!" Eleanor didn't think she'd ever seen Henri smile so wide. "And Henri, you know you can call me Rami. When you call me Mr. Sebei it makes me feel old."

Henri giggled before grabbing Rami's had and pulling him towards his friends. "Come on, we've gotta go! You're on my team!" he exclaimed as they skated away. Rami looked back amusingly at Eleanor, waving goodbye before being led by Henri across the ice.

Eleanor did a few warm-up laps of her own, watching as more kids came and as Rami held a hockey stick and taught some kids some stickhandling techniques. Before long, Rosaline and Elodie made their way on to the ice, trying to rush towards her but slipping and falling along the way. Because Henri was now eight and had been in organized hockey for four years, he hardly ever fell anymore; however, this had been Elodie and Rosaline's first year in organized hockey, and they still had a lot of balancing, stopping, and skating tricks they needed to learn. Regardless, Eleanor knew that much to Margot's astonishment, the girls started to love hockey even more than they loved their dance class. With every fall they just picked themselves right back up and continued to skate. Soon enough, parents even started to make their way on to the ice, and impromptu figure skating tricks and hockey games were breaking out left, right, and centre. Whenever Eleanor saw Henri, he was always smiling wide and looking up admiringly at Rami.

XXXXXXXXXX

Henri thought this was definitely, _definitely,_ his coolest birthday party ever. He could tell all of his friends were jealous that he had this super-cool Canadiens know-it-all family member to teach them some new hockey tricks. After Rami told some of the boys to practice their skills and that he'd be back to see their progress, Rami and Henri skated around the rink together, talking about their favourite players on the Montreal Canadiens and asking each other trivia questions about the team. Rami knew a lot, that's for sure. Henri could see that every so often, Rami would look around the rink for Eleanor and give her a small wave or a nod of the head before he went back to asking another trivia question. He thought it was nice that Rami was always looking after his beloved _tatie_. Henri just wished he could see a lot more of Rami and Eleanor.

"Mr. Sebei, do you like Orlando or Montreal better?" he asked as they skated passed the boys who were practicing the stickhandling trick Rami taught them.

"Montreal is the greatest city in the world. I'll always pick Montreal over Orlando," he answered.

"When you and my tante get married, will you live in Orlando or in Montreal with us?" he asked again.

Rami smiled at Henri's use of 'when' instead of 'if'. "We will _definitely_ live in Montreal."

Henri nodded his head approvingly. "Good. Tatie says she likes Orlando but I think she's lying to me," he revealed.

"Why do you think she's lying?"

"Well…I think if she liked Florida she'd be more tanned, because she would go outside more. But she's still really pale, so I don't think she goes out much."

Rami burst out laughing at the young boy's logic. Henri looked at Rami with a bemused look on his face. When Rami noticed Henri's expression he laughed even harder. "What?!" Henri demanded.

Rami forced himself to calm down, although he could feel tears escaping his eyes. "You know what kiddo? I'll talk to her about it. Maybe I'll bring her to the beach one of these days and she'll get a tan. How does that sound?"

"Better."

XXXXXXXXXX

With Eleanor out with Henri to pick up a birthday ice cream (her treat) and Jean-Philippe washing Elodie and Rosaline for their dinner with both Desjardins and Lafleur grandparents tonight, Rami and Margot had a chance to catch up without the interference of either Desjardins sibling. Dinner was booked for 7pm at a restaurant downtown where Rami knew he had to wear his suit. It wasn't a kid's restaurant by any means but he knew that not only would the kids behave themselves, but that entire family, including himself, would enjoy it nonetheless.

After helping bring in the gifts Henri received from his friends at the ice rink, they placed them all in the family room of Jean-Philippe and Margot's house, so Henri could open them when the family was back from dinner.

Rami made sure not to forget his, placing it amongst the pile of gifts. Margot thanked him profusely. "It's nothing major. Just a couple of hockey things…a mini stick, a winter hat, and a t-shirt. I hope that's okay."

"That's more than enough. He's going to love it. We got him a new jersey," she revealed, which made Rami smile. "We've been so lucky…some of our friends' kids are asking for iPads and all these other electronics, and all Henri wants is hockey this, hockey that, hockey everything," Margot said.

"Well, he's being raised by two great parents," Rami commented.

Margot smiled at Rami's sentiment. "Thank you Rami. That really means a lot. We always try to remind him, even at his age, that so many other people aren't in the same position as he is. We're incredibly fortunate and we're making sure he knows it. Even with the family's money, and the fact that neither he, nor us as a family, nor you and Eleanor ever have to worry about anything…we're still keen on letting him know he has to work hard."

Rami completely understood where Margot was coming from. He knew kids could easily be spoiled by their parents and turn into little terrors, but both Margot and Jean-Philippe had good heads on their shoulders and were raising their kids to be respectful in an environment where they could get away with being mean because they had more money than a lot of people. "I think he's getting the message," Rami smiled softly. "But…what did you mean when you said nor me and Eleanor?"

Margot looked at him with her eyebrows raised, as if she realized she said something she shouldn't have said. "Well Rami…you must know by now. Eleanor's told me she told you."

"Well, yeah…I know about the Desjardins and stuff…but I mean, I still worry."

"About what?"

"A whole bunch of stuff. This injury has me worrying even more…" he started. Margot shot him a skeptical look. "You know…about being able to afford a nice place in Montreal to live for Eleanor and I. About providing Eleanor and our family with a nice life…all that stuff."

Despite his musings, Margot continued to look at Rami as if he had two heads. "Rami…you know you're never going to have to worry about stuff like that."

"I'm not?"

"Rami…the Desjardins are worth over 8.4 billion dollars. We've got you covered."

Rami could swear he felt his heart accelerate. He knew the Desjardins were wealthy, but he never knew exactly _how_ wealthy. It wasn't something that he was preoccupied with, but Margot revealing the number to him out loud shocked him. "8…8.4…"

"You won't have to worry about _anything_ ," Margot repeated, trying to drive the message home. "But Eleanor doesn't care about all of that anyway. She would live in a shack if it meant she could spend the rest of her life with you."

Rami soaked in the information he was just given, becoming completely unaware of his surroundings for a brief moment in time. He would never be able to understand the amount of wealth that was held in the Desjardins family – that's for sure. He didn't necessarily need to, but it astounded him how, despite the totally different worlds he and Eleanor came from, they were so alike. He had already expressed to Eleanor that nothing she revealed about her family to him could drive him away, and this new information – a clarification, really, because he had never been given a straight number before – was no different. He loved Eleanor for a billion other things before he loved her for her money.

He was brought back to reality by the sound of the door closing and by the laughs and giggles of Henri, being carried piggyback style and being plopped on to the family room couch by Eleanor, laughing just as hard.


	18. Chapter 18

_Extra long chapter for you guys! Hope you enjoy!_

 _July 13, 2015_

As rays of light peeked through the curtains of his childhood bedroom window, Rami's eyes fluttered open, straining against the light. He groaned lightly before flipping over so his eyes weren't directly in the path of the light. He rubbed them with his fingers before opening them further, looking at the clock on his bedside table. It was 7:45 am, 13/07/15. He was officially 31 years old.

In many ways, Rami was surprised at where he was in his life at 31 years old. At the same time, however, he always knew he would be where he currently was. If someone had asked him at 17, when he first began to wrestle, what he would be doing at 31 years old, he would answer with _"Still wrestling"_ – and that was of course true. He would continue to answer, "traveling the world, making friends all over, entertaining people with wrestling" – and again, that was all true. He knew his hard work and dedication would take him places. It was something his parents instilled in him from a young age: work hard, and good things will come to you. Then there was, of course, the more personal side of things; if someone had asked him at 17 if he would be in a relationship, have a girlfriend, or be married and have kids, he would have answered with "Huh? Girls?" – definitely not with "I'd be madly in love with a Montreal socialite who I just happened to work with." Stuff like that only happened in romantic comedy movies and dreams. Suffice to say, Rami was definitely living the dream.

He couldn't lie in his bed contemplating his life for long, especially since he heard the footsteps of his mother down the hallway approaching his room. She knocked on his door but didn't even bother waiting for his reply before she opened the door and saw him still in bed. "You need to get up!" she exclaimed. "Eleanor will be here at 8:30 for you! You need to shower and dress and eat and -"

"Mama, please," Rami muttered, holding his hand up to his mother. He had just woken up – he didn't need to hear her babbling about him being late _because he wasn't going to be late_. His mother was the type of person that needed to be early for everything.

" _No_ mama please! You get up and shower now or else you will be late! Eleanor will be waiting for you! Nobody likes to wait for anybody!"

Rami groaned into his pillow. This all could have been avoided if Eleanor was just allowed to sleep over the house, but _no_ – Rami's parents were too traditional, so no girlfriends were allowed to sleep over, even if it was in a separate room that was barred with military style security codes. He even had to lie to his parents when he slept over Jean-Phillipe and Margot's, telling them he and Eleanor slept in separate rooms because Margot was a devout Catholic and didn't like unmarried couples sleeping in the same room either – something completely ridiculous, but his parents bought it.

" _Let's go Rami!"_ his mother exclaimed, her voice echoing down the hallway as she yelled at her son. "I don't want breakfast to get cold because of you!"

Rami chuckled to himself. It was always about the food. Even though her shrieks pierced his ears, it felt damn good to be home.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rami could sense Eleanor's nervousness as she drove through the streets of Montreal, en route to the restaurant Rami's friends were congregated in for his birthday. The morning had been busy – Eleanor had stayed for breakfast at his house before shuttling him over to Margot and Jean-Philippe's for some playtime with Henri, Elodie, and Rosaline. Now that it was lunchtime, Eleanor's nerves were starting to get the best of her. She hadn't met any of Rami's friends from Montreal before today, even though she set up the lunch with them. Rami had told her all about them, of course, and she almost definitely knew he told them about her, but the whole experience was still nerve-wracking, and Eleanor couldn't help but bite at her fingernails at every red light she hit.

Rami reached across the seat and grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand towards his lap as he engulfed her small hand in his. "Stop being so nervous," he said.

"I'm not nervous."

Rami chuckled to himself. Who was she trying to fool? "You can't fool me, darling. I know you."

Eleanor looked at him for a brief moment before sighing. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to worry…I know you're nervous, but you don't have to be. They'll love you."

Eleanor smiled meekly, believing Rami for the most part. "Thanks Samsquantch," she said, garnering a snort from Rami.

Inside the restaurant, Eleanor didn't think she'd ever seen a group of happier people. The second she and Rami walked through the door, Rami was bombarded with hugs from his friends. Eleanor recognized a few of them through Facebook pictures, or had remembered stories Rami had told her about them. Rami took his time to introduce her to everyone by name, and instead of politely giving her a hand shake, they all hugged her as well. Eleanor felt good in knowing they were already this warm and they barely knew her.

Caitlin, who was the girlfriend of Daniel – Rami's friend who Eleanor worked with to organize the birthday lunch – pulled Eleanor to the side briefly to give her a hug. Though their relationship had mostly been over Skype calls and Facebook messages, the two women liked each other and had gotten along well throughout the planning process. Caitlin was the only recognizable face out of the women present, so she took it upon herself to make sure Eleanor felt as comfortable as possible around a horde of people she barely knew. She and Daniel had been dating since high school and had known Rami almost as long – so any friend of Rami's was a friend of theirs.

"Was Rami excited for this?" she asked.

"You'd think he was eight and going to Disneyland for the first time," Eleanor joked, causing Caitlin to chuckle. "He couldn't stop talking about this for weeks. Even this morning with his mom at breakfast, he kept telling her not to make him so stuffed, that he needed to save room for lunch."

"And I bet his mom just kept force feeding food down his throat," Caitlin mused.

"Oh, of course. That woman won't stop until you have 5,000 calories worth of food in you."

Caitlin chuckled before grabbing Eleanor's upper arm. "Let me introduce you to the girls," she offered with a big smile. She led Eleanor back to the group of women before introducing her to them all: Thèrese, who was Adam's girlfriend; Marie-Julie, or MJ, the fiancée of Patrice; Sylvie, who had also gone to high school with Rami; Diane, who was Robert's girlfriend; and lastly, Monica, who was Pierre's girlfriend. Caitlin had told Eleanor about Monica – about how she had only been dating Pierre for about four months but kept forcing herself into 'the group'. Daniel grimaced about her attitude, that because she went to private school, she liked to think that she was gracing everyone with her presence when she tagged along with Pierre, uninvited, to gatherings and events. _"We don't particularly like her all that much, but we can tolerate her for a lunch, I guess,"_ Caitlin had said. _"You might not warm up to her either."_

An abundance of drinks and food were ordered throughout the lunch. Rami had been whisked away by his buddies and wasn't sitting next to Eleanor, but that didn't matter to her – she wasn't going to take him away from his friends, especially since he hadn't seen them in months. Plus, she had Caitlin and the rest of the women around her to keep her company – much better company than she would have had if she was sitting beside Rami, amongst the men.

"Your face just looks so familiar," Monica spoke up as Eleanor was finishing the last of her slice of red velvet cake. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Eleanor hated to admit it, but Caitlin was right: Monica wasn't the most pleasant of beings. She had a sketchy attitude and would constantly try to one-up the rest of the women at the table, which Eleanor hated. She grew up and went to school with many similar people, and it was a trait she hated to see in others.

"I don't think so?" Eleanor offered, her response coming off more so like a question than an answer. "Maybe I look like someone you went to high school with," she offered.

Monica shook her head. "No…I definitely know you from somewhere. Definitely not high school," she pestered. Eleanor wanted her to drop it. "You just…you look really familiar."

"I guess I just have one of those faces," Eleanor shrugged, eating another piece of red velvet cake.

"She does look a little bit like Manon from a couple years abo -"

" _Wait_ ," Monica cut off Sylvie's possible explanation. "Didn't I just see you in like, a magazine last week?"

Eleanor could swear she felt her heart skip a beat. "Uh…I don't think so?"

"Oh my God, I did! Eleanor…Eleanor…" she repeated her name until she came to conclusion, snapping her fingers practically in Eleanor's face. "You're Eleanor Desjardins, aren't you?"

"Y…Yeah," Eleanor squeaked out.

Caitlin couldn't care less about what was just revealed, she just saw Eleanor getting more uncomfortable with each passing second. "Monica, maybe you should dr-"

"Oh my God, I can't believe I've been conversing with a socialite!" Monica exclaimed, an excited look already on her face. "Pierre! _Pierre!_ " she yelled across the table until she got her boyfriend's attention. "Rami's _little friend_ is Eleanor Desjardins!"

"Who?"

Rami could see Eleanor's look of horror – how her cheeks were flushing red, how she was reminding herself to breathe. Rami wanted to make a stupid joke – say something, _anything_ that would take the attention away from her. He almost threw his coffee cup on the floor on purpose just so that everyone would complain about how clumsy he was, always breaking things at restaurants. Anything to divert the attention away from Eleanor.

"Charles Desjardin's daughter! It's her!"

Pierre looked at Rami in shock. The other guys seemed a bit confused as to why this was being made a big deal of. They had learned her name when Rami introduced them and nobody had batted an eye. " _DUDE!"_ he exclaimed. "You never said anything about dating a _Desjardins_!"

"Because it's not a big deal," Rami countered.

"Yeah Monica, what's the big deal?" Caitlin asked harshly, seeing the pain in Eleanor's face.

"Her family is like, loaded," Monica said matter-of-factly.

"That's great for them. I don't even know who the fuck they are," Caitlin deadpanned.

Monica looked back at Eleanor. "I just _knew_ I recognized your face from the Hello M-"

"Seriously, Monica, who wants to talk about family when you're surrounded by friends?" MJ butt in, defending Eleanor. "Especially after we just met her? Chill out."

Monica didn't dare say anything else after MJ's interjection, focusing her attention more on her half-eaten piece of carrot cake than thinking about wherever else she recognized Eleanor from. Eleanor looked at MJ, giving her a small smile, showing her gratitude for her interjection. MJ winked back, scooping up some of her ice cream and bringing it to her mouth.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Rami and Eleanor returned back to Jean-Philippe and Margot's house – where they had been staying for the time being – it was late at night, so they tried to be as quiet as possible as they entered the house and made their way into the basement. Neither of them wanted to wake up the kids.

Eleanor could barely get her jacket off before Rami had grabbed her by the waist and started attacking her with kisses. She giggled as she pulled herself away from him. "No, not yet," she smiled mischievously.

"What? I've been waiting all day to do that!" he complained, grabbing her by the waist again and pulling her body towards his.

"You have to open your gift first," she said.

"What did I tell you about getting me a gift."

"You didn't think I'd actually listen, did you?" she asked back, pecking him quickly on the lips.

"Okay, fine. But I'm pouncing on you right after I open it," he warned her.

"Deal."

She sprinted away to the closet and retrieved the small box, wrapped in traditional wrapping paper, ribbon, and bow. Rami took off his shoes and sat on the bed, watching her as she approached with the gift in her hands, a smile on her face. She sat facing him on the bed.

"It's a bit small," he commented.

Eleanor huffed. "Sorry I didn't get you a Maserati," she said sarcastically, pinching him on his leg as best she could. "For all you know it's a brochure for the Quattroporte."

"If it is I think I'd die," he said, bringing the small package up to his ear and shaking it. "It's not even making any noise!"

"Can you just open your gift you Samsquanch!"

Rami didn't say another word and obeyed his command. He ripped the ribbon and paper apart and saw a figure wearing a goalie mask. He smiled immediately, knowing it had _something_ to do with hockey. She knew him too well. As he continued to unwrap it, he figured out it was Ken Dryden's "The Game" – the defining book about the legendary Montreal Canadiens dynasty of the 1970s.

"Aww man, The Game! This is amazing! I've always wanted this," he said.

"I'm glad you like it," she said softly.

"I bet I can open it to any page and read a passage that will be amazing," he said, opening up the book at a random point. "Page 107: _But life on the road comes at a price. The energy it gives, the freedom you feel, it takes away, and more – twenty-six weeks a season, eighty games, from bus to plane to bus to hotel to bus to arena to bus to plane, to a leagueful of cities three times a week. A rhythm like any other rhythm, it is one you get used to; except this one is always changing and you never do._ " He smiled at the end, closing the book dramatically. "My God. How epic. This is coming with me everywhere so I can read it and consume it whole."

Eleanor stayed silent. When he looked up at her smiling, and noticed she was smiling coyly, with her hands in front of her mouth to try and hide it, he became skeptical. "What?"

"Look…look through it," she said.

Rami fanned through the pages, coming across four tickets to Montreal's home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs for the upcoming season. "Eleanor!" he exclaimed, grabbing the tickets out of the book. "Holy shit, fifth row woman?"

"That's where our season seats are," she said plainly, as if everyone had access to such good seats. "You can take Fergal to his first hockey game, take Ben, anyone."

Rami leaned over to kiss her. "I'm obviously taking _you_."

Eleanor smiled. "There's one more thing," her voice was barely above a whisper.

Rami furrowed his eyebrows. She looked down at the book, giving him a hint. He opened the cover only and landed on the first page, his eyes bulging out of his head. _'To Rami – with best wishes'_

Rami didn't know what to do. He didn't know whether to look at Eleanor or look at the page and count the names that had signed. Ken Dryden had signed it. Larry Robinson had signed it. Jacques Lemaire had signed it. Guy Lapointe had signed it. Yvan Cournoyer had signed it. Steve Shutt had signed it. Serge Savard had signed it. _Scotty fucking Bowman had signed it_. GUY LA-FUCKING-FLEUR HAD SIGNED IT.

"Eleanor…" he said, his voice cracking and uneasy. "How…how did you…"

"It's easy when an old family friend is Scotty Bowman. He can just call up the old boys and get things done," she said. "And I mean…I guess it helps that my great-grandfather saved the Habs…" she tried to joke.

She suddenly felt his lips on hers in a forceful kiss – it was the only way he could currently think to express his gratitude. She felt a stray tear on her cheek. "Hey," she said as he pulled away, wiping it away with her thumb.

"I think I'm gonna start hyperventilating," he said, looking down at the book again. "Eleanor…"

"I know, Rami. It's okay."

He took a moment to fully take in what he was given. "My brothers are gonna kill me," he laughed, running his fingers along the page where the autographs were. "They all touched this book…this page. If I was a scientist I could lift their DNA out of here and grow my own Guy Lafleur in a test tube!"


	19. Chapter 19

_Be warned, there's some upcoming drama in the next few chapters!_

 _XXXXXXXXXX_

 _July 17, 2015_

To the surprise of many people inside the wrestling business and out of it, Paul Levesque actually had to deal with a lot of paperwork. Whether it had to do with NXT, Raw, Smackdown, shareholders, or any other aspect of the "business side of things", on more than one occasion he felt sorry for being personally responsible for the destruction of a forest somewhere in the world. That being said, the paperwork didn't even amount to the number of emails he received on a daily basis. He fielded hundreds of them on any given day, and due to this, even in his older age, he was getting fairly good at being able to recognize the names and emails of the people he should be responding to. Any others he'd forward to Eleanor, or plainly ignore. If they really needed him, they'd email again.

When Paul was tackling through his long list of unanswered emails, at his desk in his office at the Performance Centre, it was already nearing lunch time. Usually, this was a morning task, but there was just too much to take care of this morning that were more important than dealing with emails. A name and email he didn't recognize at all was within the unopened and unanswered. In any other case, he would have simply deleted it, but the subject line caught his eye: _Eleanor Desjardins_.

The email itself was short and sweet, but there were quite a few attachments he would need to leaf through. If this was an unsolicited job offer for Eleanor that had made its way into his inbox, he'd be livid; not at Eleanor, but at whoever thought they could take her away from her position. He didn't believe Eleanor would ever go looking for another job in the first place, so he was confused as to why her name would appear in the subject line of an email.

 _From: M. Durant_

 _To: Paul Levesque_

 _Date: 17/07/2015 23:55pm_

 _Subject: Eleanor Desjardins_

 _Mr. Levesque,_

 _My name is M. Durant and I am a working photographer and journalist based in Montreal, Quebec. It has recently come to my attention, through my coverage of a charity event in Montreal, that Eleanor Desjardins is an employee of the WWE, specifically in its Orlando branch dubbed NXT. Ms. Desjardins is a well-known figure in Montreal, and Canada as a whole – I have covered her and her family on several occasions. Her father is a prominent businessman, Charles Desjardins, who, among other enterprises and holdings, owns and operates a property development company worth over 8.4 billion dollars._

 _Is the WWE aware they are employing a member of Canada's fourth richest family?_

 _Is the WWE aware of Eleanor Desjardin's involvement in charities, both Canadian and international? Does she participate on her own behalf or does she participate on behalf of WWE?_

 _Is Vince McMahon complacent in employing – and paying salary to – Eleanor Desjardins, whose personal net worth, thanks to her parents, is more than his and his entire company's?_

 _I have attached some of the most recent articles written in Quebec media about the Desjardins family, and some specifically of Eleanor herself for your consideration._

 _Regards,_

 _M. Durant_

Paul couldn't believe what he was reading. Eleanor Desjardins – property development – Charles Desjardins – 8.4 billion dollars – fourth richest family in Canada – _what?!_

Against his better judgment, he opened the first attachment, a PDF file, which was a scan of a magazine article published recently. He read through the text quickly.

 _Entrenched in Canadian society for generations, the Desjardins family of Montreal is no stranger to the importance of a good party in order to give back to the community. Patriarch Charles Etienne Desjardins, grandson of Etienne Mathieu Desjardins, and his wife, Catherine, held their latest soiree at the Ritz-Carleton in downtown Montreal. The $10,000-a-plate dinner and dance was a grand success, raising over three million dollars for the Montreal Children' Hospital._

 _Catherine, a member of the Montmorency family, is well versed in hosting such successful charity galas. Just last year, her Monte-Carlo themed birthday party raised over $2 million for the Canadian Cancer Society. "The parties are never about us, they are only about the causes," she said, speaking exclusively to Hello! "They are such a great way to show the most important thing is to give back."_

 _The Desjardins family looked picture perfect as they mingled with the never-ending list of guests. Charles looked ecstatic as his old friend, Pierre Gagnon, the shipping magnate, surprised him with his attendance; Pierre, the avid traveler, had originally told Charles he was unable to attend due to him being tied up in Austria. Son Jean-Philippe, along with his wife, constitutional lawyer Margot, were seen introducing the Baron Andrews from England, who had flown to Montreal especially for the event, to Jean-Philippe's maternal cousins, Alexandre and Sarah Montmorency. Their children, son Henri-Mathieu and twin daughters Rosaline and Elodie, were happily tied up in a suite at the hotel, babysat by older cousins within the Lafleur family, we were told. Fashion-forward daughter Eleanor was seen mingling with friends of the family, Louis and Annette Papineau, and introducing her boyfriend, Rami Sebei, to the younger set of attendees. Eleanor and Rami currently work together at WWE NXT, the developmental brand for World Wrestling Entertainment, where Rami is better known as high-flying superstar Sami Zayn._

Paul couldn't believe what he was reading. Sure, the McMahons rolled with some high-flying people, but nothing like what he was reading. The Baron Andrews, from England? Whoever he was had _title_ , for God's sake! Shipping magnates? A charity dinner where a plate was $10,000? Exactly _how_ long was her family "entrenched" in Canadian society? He exhaled for a while, letting out some steam before closing the article and opening some of the other attachments. Another article about the aforementioned Monte-Carlo themed birthday; a tour of their ski chalet in Whistler; another tour of their recently refurbished London townhouse; other PDFs of compiled pictures of Eleanor at 'society' events with other prominent figures.

He was going to need to talk to Eleanor.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Why'd you never get in to wrestling, Maple?" Fergal asked facetiously as he waited to warm up his lunch in the microwave. Eleanor was ahead of him in the impromptu line.

She looked at him as if he was crazy. "Are you nuts?" she asked, making Fergal laugh out loud. "I can barely keep my balance walking down the street and you want me to do what you do? No way."

"Come on! I bet if Rami or I taught you, you'd be good."

"I'd be the most dangerous person to ever step foot in that ring," she deadpanned.

"That's the spirit!"

"NO! Not dangerous in a good way! I'd injure everyone! I'd be on the cover of Pro Wrestling Illustrated with the headline 'Worst Wrestler Ever, in the History of Professional Wrestling'," she mocked the headline.

"Aww come on Maple, give it a shot," Fergal urged her.

"Never. You're not gonna get me in that ring, Fergie Ferg."

Before Fergal could respond, her phone buzzed loudly on the counter. Paul's name flashed across the screen. _'Need you in my office now. Impromptu meeting.'_

Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows as she read the text. Paul usually asked her to call people for him so he could actually have the meeting, but he didn't name anyone. "Fergal, I've gotta go. Just leave my Tupperware on the counter, I'll come back and get it later."

Fergal noticed the worried look on her face as she texted on her phone. "Is it Paul?" he asked.

Eleanor barely nodded her head before leaving the lounge and making her way back to Paul's office.

When she entered, Paul was sitting as his desk, not in his meeting room, and he was scrolling through something on his computer. He looked at her as she walked in. "Sit," he said, nodding to the chair across from his.

She pulled up the chair, really beginning to get nervous. He had a stern look on his face, still scrolling through whatever he was scrolling through on his computer screen as she waited for him. He finally looked at her and took his hand off the mouse. "You know the amount of emails that I get," he started casually. Eleanor nodded her head, not quite sure where he was going. "And this morning…the funniest thing happened. There was a name I didn't quite recognize. Usually I just send them straight to the trash…but this one…this one had your name in the subject line."

Eleanor stiffened. Oh God. _Oh God._

"So I'm just going to come out and say that _I know_ ," Paul said, finally looking at Eleanor. "That's as simple as I can put it. I know."

Eleanor felt like she was going to start sobbing in front of Paul. This was it. This was her job over. This was her severance, her 'pack up your things and go'; her 'exceptions can't be made for you, the relationship needs to end now'. She was going to have to give Fergal a tearful goodbye and then drive to Rami's and explain why she got fired. She dug her nails into the skin on the back of her hands. "Paul…I'm sorry," she whispered, and a tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek. "I really…I really didn't mean – I mean it didn't -"

"There's no need to apologize," he said, much more lightheartedly than she expected.

"No, there _is_ a need to apologize. It all happened all by accident really. A happy coincidence," she started to ramble. She felt the need to defend herself, to truly explain to her boss what had happened. She watched Paul furrow his eyebrows. "I know I was warned about dating within the company and especially with the talent, but Rami and I got along so well…there were really deep feelings there…we couldn't lie to each other anymore. It started at the beginning of March."

By the end of Eleanor's short speech, Paul looked down, twirling his pen in his hands. "I know you're dating Rami. That's not the issue," he said.

Eleanor froze in her spot. "Isn't that what this is about?" she clarified.

"No…that is not what this is about," he shook his head, looking back up at Eleanor.

"What is this about?"

"That email with your name as the subject line…it brought to my attention a certain Charles Desjardins of Montreal…"

Eleanor felt like someone had just stabbed her in the stomach. This was even worse than Paul finding out about Rami. "Oh God," she whispered, bringing her hand to her mouth. She felt a sob coming.

"From a certain Desjardins family of Montreal – whom you share a surname with – who conveniently happen to be worth 8.4 billion dollars and are the fourth richest family in Canada." Eleanor stayed quiet, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. "There were newspaper clippings of you at events and you with your family. Quite the real estate portfolio you guys have, I must say," he tried to joke, but Eleanor wasn't exactly in a laughing mood. He could tell how hard she was taking this and decided to get straight to the point. "Look, Eleanor, all I want to know is if this is true."

Eleanor nodded her head. She tried to wipe away her tears but more kept falling.

"So your family is worth 8.4 billion dollars?" Paul clarified. Eleanor nodded her head. "And your family is in property development? Paul asked again. Eleanor nodded her head again. "Old money?" he asked, to another nod. "And what…what do you do with your salary? Surely you don't need it."

Eleanor took a deep breath. "Every paycheque I make, I donate it to a different charity. The last couple have gone to charities that work on building girls schools."

Paul looked down again and smiled to himself. Out of all his employees, out of everyone he knew, Eleanor _would_ be the one to do something so selfless. Now that he had the confirmation from her that the emails were true, that's all he needed to know. "Eleanor, you can stop crying. I'm just happy I know now. Honestly, I can't believe I didn't find out earlier. It's…weird that I didn't, really."

"Am I getting fired?" she asked.

"What?! Good God, no!" Paul dismissed the idea entirely.

"Are you sure?"

"Do you think I'm that stupid that I would get rid of you?" he asked rhetorically. "I may be dumb but I'm not that dumb. You're one of the best, most organized people here. I could never fire you over something like this."

Eleanor felt relief wash over her. There was still one issue to address. "What about Rami?"

Paul held his hands up in front of him. "That's none of my business. I, of all people, can't say anything about office worker and talent relationships."

Eleanor nodded her head, understanding his stance on the subject. "I'm really sorry, Paul."

"You could have told me, you know. It's not a big deal," he offered.

"It's a big deal to me. I didn't want to tell anybody."

"Why not? Stuff like that doesn't matter."

' _You'd be surprised'_ Eleanor thought to herself, but decided not to say it out loud. "Do you know how nice it is to be known as just Eleanor Desjardins and not _Eleanor Desjardins_?" she asked, repeating the same sentiment she said to Rami. "I want to forge my own path. I don't want to rely on my comfortable position back home."

Paul smiled at her revelation. "Good for you, kid," he squeezed her hand quickly. "That's the way to do it. Go back to whatever you were doing. Were you having lunch?"

Eleanor nodded her head, standing up from her chair as she wiped the last of her tears. Paul turned back towards his computer screen. She walked towards the door, stopping before she left the office. "Paul?" she called to him, getting his attention. She hesitated to ask her question, fearing the answer. "Did…did anyone else get the email? Or was it just you?"

"Just me, kiddo. Just give me the word and it'll stay that way."

"Make it stay that way. Please."

Paul gave her thumbs up, just as his phone began to ring.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rami wasn't expecting to see Eleanor in tears as he opened the door to her frantic knocks. Her cheeks were wet with moisture and her eyes red and puffy; she didn't say a word as she latched on to him, her arms tightly around his neck. He wrapped his own arms around her and pulled her inside, giving her light kisses on the top of her head before pulling away slightly. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked softly.

Eleanor shook her head, as if even she couldn't believe what was about to come out of her own mouth. "Someone sent an email to Paul about my family. He knows _everything_ ," she said, hiccupping at the end.

Rami's eyes bulged out of his head. " _What?_ "

"He called me into his office today during lunch and told me. He knew I was dating you too somehow, but he didn't care about that."

"He didn't?" Rami clarified. He thought Paul at least would have had a stern talk with both of them if he ever found out.

"He said he of all people can't say anything about talent and office relationships," she explained.

That was all Rami needed to hear. There were bigger issues on the horizon for them right now. "Stop crying, darling. Did he make a big deal out of knowing your family now?"

Eleanor shook her head. "He just kept saying it wasn't a big deal, that it doesn't matter. That he was surprised he didn't find out sooner, considering."

Rami smiled slightly. "See? What did I tell you? Not a big deal," he offered. "I knew he wouldn't be bothered by it."

Eleanor hiccupped again as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "I just can't stop thinking about who could have sent it. Was it someone I know? Like I honestly have no idea who would want to email him stuff about me."

"Don't preoccupy yourself with that. You'll drive yourself crazy," Rami warned, bringing her in close and wrapping his arms around her again.

Eleanor calmed down considerably as Rami hugged her, his scent engulfing her senses. "He said…he said it was only sent to him. That nobody else knows, and that it'll stay that way," she mumbled against his chest.

"Then you shouldn't worry about it," Rami said. "Paul's a man of his word. No-one will know."


	20. Chapter 20

_Here comes the drama! Enjoy!_

 _XXXXXXXXXX_

 _July 20, 2015_

"I need you to run this to Mark Callaway," Eleanor directed a backstage runner, a script in one hand and her phone in the other. "Explain to him that there has been a few tweaks to the script, timing wise. He'll understand."

The runner nodded their head quickly before grabbing the script and dashing off. Eleanor looked back down at the mess of papers in front of her, trying to make sense of which script needed to go to which superstar. She sighed heavily as she ruffled through the papers, trying to find the Diva's segment.

"You alright there, Maple?" Fergal asked from his position on the couch. He and Rami had been sitting and joking with one another as she worked, directing runner after runner. Obviously neither of them were working Raw, but Paul wanted them along for the ride, wanting them (more so Fergal) to get a sense of the atmosphere of the show. Eleanor came to learn that "get a sense of the atmosphere" was code for "hang out with the rest of the boys on the main roster". Rami and Fergal could have done exactly what they were doing at home on their couches in Orlando.

"You'd think people would be more organized here," she grumbled, finally finding the Divas segment. She sighed heavily before organizing the rest of the papers on the desk. "I'm going to run these, since everyone else seems to be gone," she informed them. "Just text if you need me."

As Eleanor walked through the hallways, she'd stop various talent she'd see, dig their segment out of her stack, and explain to them the changes before going on her merry way. Most were warm and kind to her, having come to know her through doing this exact thing on previous Raws or from seeing her "around" other events.

After at least an hour of more running and even more script changes, Eleanor found herself hunched over a giant black electrical box, trying to reorganize her stack of scripts so she could see whom she had left to deliver to. With Raw starting in about an hour, she needed to get the scripts out as soon as possible so the talent could begin to prepare.

"Well well well…look who it is!" she heard a gravelly voice down the hallway. She looked to her right to see Jon Good approaching her, already in his tank top and jeans for the night.

"Hi Jon," she smiled, greeting him politely. She had put what happened at Wrestlemania weekend behind her, and she hoped he did too.

"Good evening, Her Royal Highness, Ms. Eleanor Desjardins, Princess of Montreal," he greeted, extending his leg and bowing to her. Eleanor froze in her spot. "Is that the correct title? Am I doing this right, princess?"

Eleanor could feel a lump forming in her throat. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, I knew I saw Rami looking at you all googly-eyed at that dinner. Guess he got quite the catch, with you being worth eight billion dollars and all," Jon smirked.

Eleanor couldn't believe what she was hearing. Jon stood there, proud of himself at what he had just said, as she felt her insides burning. "What…what…"

"You're busted, princess," she heard another voice from beside her. She looked to her left and Colby was standing there. "Don't you read? You brought Rami to that dinner and now it's all over the dirt sheets. Those guys have Google alerts for our names. You should have known better," he chastised her as if she were a child.

"What Rami and I do isn't anyone's business," she blurted out. She couldn't believe she couldn't think of anything else to say.

Colby smirked at her. "How cute. When stuff like that gets out, it's everybody's business, princess," he said in the most condescending tone she'd ever heard. "Now, is there anything else you think you should lecture me on? I've been in this game far longer than you have."

Eleanor's emotions began to reach their boiling point. If Colby uttered one more word in his condescending tone, she felt like she was going to rip his hair out of his scalp.

"Nah, she's got nothing to say," Jon piped in.

"I didn't think she would. She wouldn't lower herself to talk to us," Colby addressed Jon before he glanced back at her. "You think you're better than everyone here, just admit it."

"NO!" she burst out. She refused to cry in front of them. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction. "I'm the exact opposite. I don't think I'm better than anybody."

"Yeah, right," Colby smirked.

Eleanor glared at him before stomping her way towards him. " _I'm_ the one running your scripts, aren't I? _I'm_ the one taking care of all the re-writes, aren't I? _I'm_ the one doing all the _bitch work_ because God forbid either of _you_ take any interest in actually _going_ to the writers and producers and making their jobs a bit easier," she wailed at him, alluding to Jon's comment from Wrestlemania.

"Please," Colby rolled his eyes at her.

"Poor little rich girl," she heard Jon mumble behind her.

She was on her last nerve. She walked back to her stack of scripts and scooped them up violently. "You know what, I refuse to put up with this," she growled at them both, shoving Jon's script into his chest violently, causing him to stumble back. "You can think whatever you want about me – it doesn't look like I'm changing your mind anytime soon."

She marched down the hallway with her head held high, just high enough so she could stop her tears from running down her cheeks.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rami and Fergal had decided to make their way to catering after watching a multitude of cat fail videos, knowing that Eleanor was busy with Paul or someone else who had her running errands. Rami immediately went to the food and filled his plate before scanning the room for a familiar face. Fergal had been called over by Natalya and was preoccupied with her.

"My man!" he heard someone yell from across the room. He looked to see Colby waving him down. Rami walked over to him and set his plate down on the table. "You gotta sit down, man! We've gotta talk about the news!"

Rami smiled as he gave his shoulder a few impressive turns. "I know! The stupid cast is finally off! I can actually move the damn thing!" he said.

"That's…that's good, but I didn't mean _that_ ," Colby laughed, pulling out his phone. "Haven't you seen?"

Rami furrowed his eyebrows. "Seen what?"

Rami waited impatiently as Colby pulled up whatever Rami needed to see on his phone, before he handed it to Rami. As he looked at the screen, he noticed the familiar template of an infamous dirt sheet website.

 _Sami Zayn, real name Rami Sebai, was named recently in Hello! Canada magazine, as he was in attendance for benefit dinner supporting the Montreal Children's Hospital. The magazine article stated Sebai is in a relationship with Eleanor Desjardins, a member of the family throwing the benefit dinner, who is also Triple H's executive assistant in NXT. It is unknown whether or not Sebai attended the $10,000 a plate dinner privately or on behalf of the WWE._

Rami felt his heart sink to his stomach. This was Eleanor's worst nightmare. In many ways, this was _his_ worst nightmare. "How…how did you find this?" Rami asked. He couldn't believe it. If Colby knew, who else knew?

"Word gets around," he said simply, as if the information wasn't important. "And you know how these guys are. The smallest mention of our names anywhere and we're on their websites so they can get hits."

Rami buried his head in his hands, exhaling and shaking his head to himself. "This isn't good. This is no good at all."

Colby seemed to ignore the state Rami was in and just wanted to get as much information out of him as possible. "Dude…she's like, fucking loaded."

Rami shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess."

"So she knows all these guys from families like hers who can wine and dine her…and here you are, little old Rami… _you_ landed her!" Colby smiled, nudging his friend.

Rami was getting more fed up by the second. All he really wanted was to find Eleanor. He felt paranoid that everybody had this information now on their phone and were just waiting for the opportunity to talk to him – or worse, her – and confirm it. It made him sick to his stomach. "What's that supposed to mean?" Rami's tone was harsh.

"Nothing man, I'm just saying…you might be fighting a lost cause. People like to be with who they know – their types, you know? So she might just end up with one of them. It's a big difference," Colby said.

"None of that stuff matters. We're past that. It's not an issue and isn't going to be an issue in the future," Rami assured his old friend.

Colby shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you say man. But hey, at least you don't have to worry about her asking you for designer bags and racks of shoes – she can afford all that shit herself."

That's when Rami reached his breaking point. "Don't say stuff like that."

"Why not?" Colby asked indignantly.

"There's more to women besides demanding shoes and clothes. She's got a heart. She's got a brain," Rami said. "She's exactly the same as when you met her Wrestlemania weekend. Type -A, hard worker, cares a lot about the people she works with and works for. What's changed?"

"What's changed? The fact that she's fucking loaded, bro!" Colby exclaimed. "Her family's net worth is like what? 8 billion?"

"Exactly my point. It was the same at Wrestlemania weekend. Nothing has changed."

" _Everything_ has changed."

" _No_ , it _hasn't_ ," Rami said firmly.

"How are you so cool about this?" Colby asked harshly. "You know your girl is worth 8 billion dollars and you're just like _whatever_ ," Colby mimicked Rami's voice in a belittling manner.

"I obviously don't judge people based on that stuff, and _you_ obviously do," Rami said, readying himself to stand up and leave. He didn't want to deal with Colby's shit right now.

"Bro, bro wait!" Colby tried to get him to stay.

"I'm fucking sick and tired of this shit, man!" Rami raised his voice, much to the shock of Colby and everybody else in catering who heard him. Rami _never_ raised his voice – he was famous backstage for it. "What is it about her that you don't like?"

"I never said I didn't like her -"

"Then what's the fucking deal?!" Rami demanded. "She's been nothing but nice and cordial with you this entire time and you continue to fucking shit on her every chance you get! Come talk to me when you have a better fuckin' attitude," he dismissed Colby and their tasteless conversation, shoving his chair back with his foot and storming out of catering.

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor was standing in Paul's office. He had no idea she had been crying – or he did and decided not to address it. He had his mind preoccupied with the big meeting of the Undertaker and Brock Lesnar tonight – any other problem was secondary to him. That segment was the most important of the show, and he needed to make sure it was pulled off flawlessly.

"All the final scripts have been run. Everyone knows and understands their segments. All others have been advised of the changes," Eleanor informed him.

"Thanks, kid," he said without looking at her, reading over the Undertaker-Brock Lesnar segment.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"No. You're good for now," he said.

"Then I request to have the rest of the night off," she said.

 _That_ caught Paul's attention. He finally looked up from the script he was reading. "What?"

"I haven't been feeling well all day – I think I may have gotten food poisoning from the airplane food," she lied through her teeth. "I just humbly request that, so long as I find a runner who is willing to wait on you hand and foot, I have the night off so I don't end up vomiting on Mark or Brock."

Paul had no other option but to give in. The show wouldn't run even a quarter as smoothly now because she wasn't around, but food poisoning was serious business and he didn't want her collapsing from fatigue or sickness anywhere backstage. "Alright, that's fine. You gonna go to a doctor?" he asked.

"I think I'll be okay. I'll sweat it out in the hotel room and see how I feel tomorrow morning."

"I promise I won't text you unless this place is burning down," Paul tried to make her smile, succeeding and smiling himself when he noticed her smirk.

XXXXXXXXXX

 **Where are you? – Rami**

 _Took a cab back to the hotel. Needed some air. – Eleanor_

 **I wish I could have done something to stop this from happening.**

 _There was nothing you could have done. It would have come out eventually._

 **You don't have to hide, darling. You have me. More importantly, you have yourself. You know your worth better than anyone I know.**

 _I'm not hiding from it…I'll deal with it._

 **Then why'd you go back to the hotel?**

 _Ask Jon and Colby._


	21. Chapter 21

_I apologize for the lack of updates over the past month – my job got really busy and, of course, it was the holidays. However, here is a new chapter for you to enjoy! Please leave a review letting me know how you like the story and if you enjoy the way things are going :)_

 _July 20, 2015_

Rami was seeing red. He was on a manhunt for Colby and Jon and he was going to stop at nothing until he found them. He didn't care if Raw was about to start soon; he didn't care if either of them were in the opening segment; he didn't care if he had to search the entire night. He didn't think he'd ever been this angry in his entire life.

He knocked on each door, peered into each room, looking for either one of them. He hoped he would find them together, but that was just asking for too much. Whoever he saw, he asked for them – and they guided him in the right direction. He knocked on one door and opened it quickly, seeing Claudio in the room. He didn't bother with formalities. "Where's Colby?" he demanded.

Claudio didn't answer at first. "What do you need Colby for?" he asked back.

"I need to find him, Claudio," Rami refused to answer.

Claudio sighed at Rami's revelation. "I haven't seen him," he said calmly. "But I can tell you what they said."

Rami's eyebrows rose. "You can _what_?"

Claudio looked at Rami. "Listen…I was kind of around the corner when it happened."

"What did they say to her?"

"Jon called her Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Montreal. Said _you_ got quite the catch since she's worth eight billion dollars," Claudio began. Rami inhaled sharply, trying to maintain his composure. "Colby told her she should have known better. He was very condescending, calling her princess. Accused her of thinking she was better than anyone else. Jon said to her, 'poor little rich girl'."

Rami had had it. He turned to leave quickly, but Claudio was quicker, grabbing his arm. "Don't do anything stupid, Rami."

"I'm not," Rami dismissed him, trying to leave again. Claudio still had a firm grip on his forearm, holding him in his spot.

"I mean it Rami. Don't go crazy."

"You don't have to worry. I'm not gonna do anything stupid," Rami said. Claudio believed him enough and let go.

Rami had never made a more empty promise in his life.

XXXXXXXXXX

 **Mapleeeee where'd you go? I can't find you! – Fergal**

 _Back at the hotel – Eleanor_

 **Why?**

 _Wasn't feeling very well. I think I have food poisoning._

 **:(**

 _Can you keep an eye on Rami for me tonight please?_

 **I will, but I'm already failing.**

XXXXXXXXXX

Rami kept popping in an out of rooms. He was getting frustrated with his search, but he wasn't going to stop until he did what he needed to do. The prolonged search just made him antsier.

He turned a corner and came upon a large opening that led, eventually, to gorilla, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed the all-too-familiar two-toned hair of Colby. He stopped dead in his tracks and walked over to him. Colby was speaking with a runner, but when he noticed Rami, he shooed the runner away.

"What did you say to her, huh?" Rami demanded as he kept walking towards Colby.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Colby demanded back.

"Come on _princess_ , tell me what you said to her."

Colby rolled his eyes. "Come on, man! We were just having some fun."

"Fun? You call that fun?!" Rami didn't know what possessed him to make him so volatile. He saw a look of confusion flash Colby's eyes – in all the years they had known each other, Rami had never acted this way. "If you want to rip on me about it, by all means – _rip on me_. But if I hear you've spoken another word _about_ her or _to_ her, I'm gonna fucking kill you, do you hear me? Stay the fuck away from her unless you're there to apologize."

Colby saw the fire in Rami's eyes and knew he was serious. He tried to maintain his composure but seeing Rami like this was throwing him out of loop. The Rami he knew never got angry. "Pass the message on to Jon for me, _princess_ ," Rami griped before he walked away.

XXXXXXXXXX

Fergal couldn't believe what Nattie had told him. She had showed him what the dirt sheet had written about Eleanor and Rami – he pretending to act surprised when the revelation of Eleanor and Rami being in a relationship came up, but he was genuinely surprised when Nattie started to tell him what she vaguely knew about her family.

"I called my uncle Bret. He said something about them owning the Montreal Canadiens a long time ago," she mentioned.

Fergal thought back to the portrait of that Desjardins guy in the Bell Centre in Montreal, and how he asked Eleanor if there was any relation. She had lied when she said no. "They owned an entire hockey team?" he asked.

Nattie nodded her head. TJ was listening intently too, scooping some food into his mouth every now and then. Nattie continued to scroll through her phone. "Those pictures the site had up made it seem like she's one of those socialites, you know? And I mean, she is…but I Googled her family cause I got curious. They do a lot of philanthropy. It's amazing, really."

"Really?"

"They financed the building of an entire new wing at the Montreal General Hospital. Her mom's birthday party raised like two million dollars for the Canadian Cancer Society. It's amazing."

Fergal couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That's insane."

"I wonder why she kept it a secret," Nattie pondered out loud, shrugging her shoulders and locking her phone. "I mean, does Rami even know?"

"I have no idea," Fergal shook his head, unable to process all this new information.

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor wanted to check exactly what the dirt sheet said. She Googled hers and Rami's names together and it was the first news article, so it wasn't exactly hard to find. The blurb was small, and it didn't elaborate much on anything else, although they had included some other pictures of her posing with family friends at charity events that included the dreaded "daughter of" that she hated. She assumed whoever had sent that email to Paul had sent the email to the dirt sheets as well.

But who could have spilled the beans? Eleanor felt like Nancy Drew solving a case. It would never be Jean-Philippe and Margot – they knew the perils of the media themselves and Jean-Philippe especially would not want to subject Eleanor to more than she was already subjected to. It couldn't have been any of her close friends who she introduced Rami to at the benefit dinner – she had sworn them to secrecy and she was confident they would never break her trust. It wasn't her parents, surely, or any of Rami's friends, for that matter – she didn't think he'd even told them he attended.

She held her head in her hands. _Think, Eleanor, think! Who did you introduce Rami to at the party? Who was there? Who would say something?_

Then it hit her – Vivienne. Vivienne Lapointe must have spilled the beans. She was the only person that spoke so quickly and so much (about Rocket, about her engagement, about their new house, about her ring) that Eleanor couldn't put a word in edgewise of "Hey, if any media asks, don't tell them Rami's name". Eleanor sighed as she came to the conclusion – mostly because she knew she wouldn't be able to yell at Vivienne about it. Vivienne was somewhat annoying, but she had a good heart, and Eleanor knew she wouldn't have told anyone to get ahead or for some payoff. She was probably drunk when she let it slip – not that that excused the behaviour – but deep down, Eleanor couldn't be angry. Disappointed, maybe, but not angry.

She heard a keycard being scanned through the door and it opening. Sitting at the desk, she was the first thing Rami saw as he walked through the door. He closed the door quickly behind him and walked to her as she stood up to greet him. They wrapped their arms around each other tightly before Rami guided them to the bed, crashing down and lying beside each other. Rami nuzzled his head into the crook of Eleanor's neck. "I'm so sorry," he mumbled.

"Stop apologizing, it's not your fault," Eleanor said, pulling away and grabbing his face in her hands. "This was out of your control."

Rami looked into his girlfriend's eyes, wondering if he should tell her what he said now or later. "I…I spoke to Colby."

"What did he have to say?"

Rami looked down. "Let me rephrase that. I yelled at Colby."

"You _what?_ "

"I told him not to go near you or speak to you again unless it's to apologize," Rami explained.

" _Rami_!" Eleanor exclaimed.

"Claudio was apparently around the corner and heard what happened, so he told me what Colby said to you and I responded accordingly," Rami explained further.

"That part doesn't matter…I…Rami, you _yelled_ at Colby? He's one of your best friends!" Eleanor exclaimed, not believing Rami even had the capacity to yell at _anybody_ , let alone one of his best friends. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Don't worry about it."

"Rami, he's been one of your best friends for like, ten years. You guys survived the indies together. You can't just _yell_ at him!"

" _Eleanor_."

"Don't _Eleanor_ me, Rami. There's no way in hell you're going to ruin a ten year friendship with Colby over me. I can handle Colby having a problem with me, but he shouldn't have a problem with _you_ ," she said sternly.

"If he's got a problem with _you_ he's got a problem with _me_ ," Rami countered. "I'm not gonna have him speak like that to you or about you. It's ludicrous. He's a 29 year old man – he should know better."

Eleanor knew Rami was right, but she still didn't want Rami and Colby's relationship to be strained. She bit her lip. "You need to talk to him tomorrow Rami. I mean it. I know how much his friendship means to you."

"Is that what you really want?" he asked. Eleanor nodded her head. Who was he to say no? He had to give in. He would walk from Newfoundland to British Columbia if she asked him to. "Okay, fine. But only for you."

XXXXXXXXXX

With Eleanor taking a quick shower, Rami took the opportunity to call Colby. Of course – Rami could predict this from a mile away – it went to voicemail. Rami sighed as he heard the operator's voice before the beep. "Hey, it's Rami. Listen…uh…Eleanor wants me to talk to you. She wants me to apologize to you. She said, and I quote, 'There is no way in hell your ten year friendship with Colby is going to crumble because I came along. You fix it now because I know how much the friendship means to you.' I just want you to know this is the type of girl you're talking shit about. She's not cold. She's not what you think she is. So uh…give me a call. Talk to you later."

He didn't know how Colby would react when they met up. Rami knew Colby would agree to talk to him – he just _knew_. Rami just wondered now if it would end in another screaming match.

As he sat up in the bed, contemplating the situation, Eleanor emerged from the washroom wearing an old t-shirt and plaid pajama shorts. Her hair had been towel-dried, and she decided not to tie it up in a bun. She smiled meekly at Rami before joining him on the bed, grabbing her book. She kissed Rami quickly before settling her head on his stomach, using it as a pillow. She opened her book as Rami decided to scroll through his phone, keeping himself up to date on world news and his friends on Twitter.

After a while of silence, Rami could feel Eleanor shift slightly. "Rami?" she asked in a small voice.

"Hm?"

"When did you know you loved me?" she asked.

"That time we had tacos in the park," he answered without hesitating.

Eleanor's head shot up. She shifted her body to look at Rami. "Tacos in the park? That was our first outing."

"Yeah, I know," Rami said nonchalantly.

She shifted her body again so that one arm was draped over Rami. "You knew then?" she asked, astonished.

"I was crazy about you, Eleanor. I still am."

Eleanor couldn't believe it. She let her book fall to the side as she climbed fully on top of Rami, kissing him forcefully. "You're unbelievable," she mumbled in between kisses.

They continued to kiss, Rami slipping his hands under her shirt. "Did your head hurt against those rock solid abs of mine?" he asked.

Eleanor giggled before playfully slapping him in the chest. "Don't push your luck Samsquantch," she said before lifting her arms above her head, Rami slipping off her top.


	22. Chapter 22

_July 21, 2015_

Eleanor was out of bed before Rami was awake. Truthfully, she hadn't properly slept all night, constantly waking up and thinking about what had happened the day before. She could hear Jon's voice over and over in her head calling her princess. She had to close her eyes and stop herself from thinking about Colby's overly judgmental tone. She felt like crying every time she thought about the fact that Rami had yelled at one of his best friends, possibly damaging their friendship forever, all over her.

She managed to slip out of Rami's grip without waking him and tiptoed around the room to get a spare pair of tights, sports bra, and oversized tank top out of her suitcase. With her fingers she bunched her hair into a high ponytail before tying up her shoes, grabbing her phone and her keycard, and leaving the room. She needed some space to clear her head; some time to reflect on what had happened the day before, and she knew she wouldn't be able to do it wrapped in Rami's arms.

As she walked out the doors of the hotel, the sun was barely up. She calculated an easy route on her phone and began to run, alone on the streets of Kansas City. Now that her secret was out, she couldn't hide any longer. She was no longer just an invisible office worker who waited on Paul hand and foot – now everybody she worked with would recognize her. _'Look, there's the real billion dollar princess';_ she could hear it all already. Rami would always tell her that it didn't matter, that nobody would judge her based on that information, but he was already proven wrong by Colby and Jon's actions last night. She wondered what else was in store for her.

She knew she would have to find the inner strength to keep her head high. She had been doing it most of her life, and she wasn't going to stop now just because some guys named Colby Lopez and Jon Good took issue with her. It was their problem anyway. If she could date Rami, and get along with Fergal, Ben, Pamela, Paul, William Regal, and countless other superstars and management who didn't have the same upbringing as her (never mind the countless friends she kept back in Montreal), then it wasn't her who had the problem. She told herself this any time a girl in high school would say something mean to her; she told herself this anytime a guy she was interested in – or dated – made comments. She had spent a lot of her life proving people's preconceived notions of her wrong, and she was going to continue to do just that. Like she had told Jon before she stormed off: he could think whatever he wanted of her. He had the freedom to do so. But she also had the power to prove him wrong.

As she finished her run and walked her way back into the lobby of the hotel, she saw an array of businessmen in the dining hall, eating their breakfasts. Her stomach growled as she got a whiff of the food. She stood awkwardly in the lobby, a hand on her stomach, looking at everyone eating as if she wasn't allowed to join.

"Hey, Eleanor!" she suddenly heard her name being called from inside the dining room. She looked around to see Nattie waving her down, alone at her own table. Eleanor walked over to where she was sitting, Nattie urging her to sit in the chair opposite. They exchanged pleasantries, Nattie urging Eleanor to go grab some food of her own.

When Eleanor returned to the table, Nattie was texting someone on your phone. "Thanks for calling me over. I probably would have had to wait for Rami to wake up to eat breakfast otherwise," she smiled.

Nattie smiled too. "Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag with that one," she said, eating a spoonful of yogurt. "How long has that been going on?"

Eleanor blushed. "Um…since March," she decided to be honest. Nattie was an angel – Eleanor could never lie to her.

Nattie's face lit up the moment Eleanor answered the question. "So since before Wrestlemania! Sneaky sneaky!" Nattie chastised her playfully. "I _told_ TJ that Rami had been looking at you all night at that dinner we all had, but he refused to believe me. He said I was trying to be matchmaker and I should butt out of it."

Eleanor giggled. She thought back to Fergal saying that Rami looked like he wanted to pounce on her – he was right. Rami couldn't hide it as well as he thought. "Nah, you were right – we were together by then…we just didn't want to tell anybody."

"That's understandable. Any news around here spreads like wildfire," Nattie commented in a serious tone. Eleanor could tell where Nattie was going with that comment, but instead of initiating the conversation, Eleanor waited for Nattie to bring it up instead. "I guess you heard the news last night then," Nattie prompted.

"Oh, I heard it alright."

"You know, it's not something I would judge you on…" Nattie began.

"Oh, I know Nattie. Believe me," Eleanor waved her off. "You're a sweetheart. People like you aren't the problem."

"So why didn't you tell us?"

Eleanor could only think of repeating the same sentiment that she had originally told Rami and had to use with Paul. "Do you know how nice it is to just be known as Eleanor Desjardins and not _Eleanor Desjardins_?"

"Girl, don't I know it," Nattie commented, both women giggling. In that moment, it clicked for Eleanor that Nattie would understand. Nattie was a Hart by blood – if people were to have preconceived notions about anybody in the wrestling business, it would be about her. "I just don't want you to think that me, or any of the girls for that matter, would treat you differently. I mean, it's definitely a shock when you first hear the news, but at the end of the day…you still work here too, you know?"

"I know…at least you understand that. You're levelheaded. Others aren't like that," Eleanor commented, biting into a piece of toast.

"Why? Has someone said something to you?"

Eleanor put down her toast, hesitant to bring up what had happened last night with Jon and Colby. She didn't want to start naming names in the locker room. Rami had already caused enough damage, so to speak, and for all she knew, Jon and Colby were running around themselves telling anyone who would hear about what had happened. "Not anyone here. More so in my past," Eleanor said diplomatically. "Past friends, boyfriends…you'd be surprised how a lot of people don't understand that I'm still just a regular person. On more than one occasion, I've been referred to the Princess of Montreal, or the Princess of Canada."

Nattie furrowed her eyebrows. "Well, if anybody gives you a problem, tell me and I'll set them straight. You'd be surprised how easily I can tear in to some of these guys and rip their hearts out of their chest," she smiled at the end, causing Eleanor to giggle. "Besides, they can't keep using that nickname either. No offense, but everyone knows I'm the Princess of Canada."

XXXXXXXXXX

When Rami woke up in a cold and empty bed, he grumbled to himself, thinking Eleanor was probably just in the shower or somewhere else in the room. But when he looked around and didn't see her, or hear anything come out of the bathroom, he knew she had gone somewhere. He checked her pillow and the nightstand to see if she had left a note, but she didn't. He started to worry for a moment before he checked his phone to see a flurry of missed texts. The latest one, from TJ, caught his attention first. _Coming over in 10. We're going for breakfast._

Rami forced himself out of bed and into the bathroom for a quick shower before TJ's arrival. There were no texts from Eleanor. One side of him was worried – where had she gone? Why didn't she leave a note? – but the other side of him rationalized that Paul had probably called her to do some work.

When TJ knocked on the door, Rami opened it in his boxers. "Jesus, I texted like fifteen minutes ago. I'm in a neck brace and I'm still faster than you! You're still not ready?"

"I woke up ten minutes ago," Rami admitted, making TJ laugh. If there was one thing Rami could do well, it was sleep. "Besides, I have a pertinent matter on my hands," Rami said without thinking.

"A _pertinent matter_?" TJ repeated.

"I uh…she said she'd come to breakfast too last night, but I can't get in touch with El-"

"You mean your _girlfriend_? She's with my wife downstairs having breakfast, which is why we're going downstairs to have breakfast," TJ rolled his eyes. "Let's _go_!"

Rami looked at TJ. "Wow, news does travel fast, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does, now put some damn pants on and let's _go_!"

Within two minutes both men were out the door and on their way to the elevator. Rami and TJ walked slower than normal due to TJ's neck brace situation, but at least that gave them more time to talk before they were in the presence of their significant others.

As Rami pressed the button for the elevator, he looked over at TJ. "So what are people saying?"

TJ played the fool. "About what?"

Rami scoffed at his remark. "Come on TJ…I'm not stupid."

TJ faced Rami, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "Claudio told me about you being mad at Colby for what he said – I get that, cause if someone had said those things to Nattie I would have done the exact same thing. Nobody else knows about that fight, though, because nobody brought it up."  
"What else?" Rami asked as the indicator lit up and the doors for the elevator opened. Luckily the elevator was empty, leaving Rami and TJ to continue their conversation.

"People are just wondering if Paul knows, if Vince knows, if _you_ know. There's a general sense of 'What is she doing here if she's that rich' but that's just stupid," TJ said. "She's gotta work like anyone else."

"What are they saying about me and her?"

"Some of the more crude comments are that you literally hit the jackpot."

"For fuck sakes," Rami muttered under his breath.

"Honestly, just don't worry about it, Rami. None of it is worth your time or energy," TJ urged as the elevator doors opened to the lobby. "The thing with Colby I understand. But whatever anyone else says is only collateral damage."

Rami knew TJ was right. He couldn't defend Eleanor against all elements – there were some things beyond his control. Besides, Rami probably knew the exact names in the locker room that were making the comments; like TJ said, they weren't worth his time.

As they entered the dining room, Rami saw Nattie's upbeat face wave them over, Eleanor's brown hair in a high ponytail. She turned around and waved at them as well. Rami was happy to see a smile on her face. Rami and TJ walked towards them, Nattie eventually helping her husband maneuver around the tables so he could sit beside his wife. He looked down at Eleanor to see her looking up at him; he could see in her eyes that she wanted a kiss, but he didn't know how to respond.

Eleanor laughed slightly as she saw Rami's look of confusion. "It's okay, Rami," she said. He complied with her request and leaned down to kiss her, settling down in his seat afterwards.

"You're okay?" he asked.

Eleanor nodded her head. "Yeah, it's cool…for now, at least. Nattie's cool."

"What have you guys been talking about?" TJ asked.

"We have to make sure Eleanor isn't called the Princess of Canada anymore, because we know who the rightful owner of that title is," Nattie joked, garnering a laugh from TJ. Rami looked at Eleanor to make sure she was okay with the joke, and found that she was laughing too. "But beyond that, just how we're dealing with our wrestling-obsessed boyfriends being injured and not wrestling."

As the four Canadians spoke about dealing with the highs and lows of the job, Eleanor was getting some very sound advice from Nattie, complete with real-life stories and examples of what she and TJ had been through in their long careers. She was taking everything to heart, Rami had told her his own stories before, but it was refreshing to hear from other people, from a couple who had basically been to hell and back with each other and had still managed to keep it together. It was obvious that Eleanor had never dated a professional athlete and needed all the help she could get.

Nattie and TJ had invited Eleanor and Rami to explore Kansas City with them before Eleanor and Rami had to hop on a plane back to Orlando, which they readily agreed to. The couples gave each other one hour to shower and get ready before meeting in the lobby to start the day. Back in the hotel room, as Eleanor combed through her hair to get the tangles out, Rami scrolled through his phone to remind himself of the time they had to be at the airport. Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his hand. It was a text from Colby. He tried not to look too taken aback, as to not get the attention of Eleanor.

 _I'll be in Orlando next week for a day or two. We'll meet up then._


	23. Chapter 23

_July 27, 2015_

Eleanor knew the moment Fergal called her 'Eleanor' that something was wrong.

Fergal, of course, had an array of nicknames for her, his favourite being "Maple" ("What else could I call a Canadian?"), but he called her other things too – Ellie, Boss Lady, Norbert if he really wanted to get on her nerves – but he rarely ever called her by her actual name. She had attributed his relative quietness all week to his busy schedule, but when he approached her in the weight room and asked "Eleanor, after I'm done here, do you think we can go out for lunch?" she knew something was wrong.

After driving to a local bar and grill with a nice patio, the duo were seated in a corner, at least two tables away from every other diner. The waiter immediately took their drink order before leaving them to look over the menu to make their decision. Fergal kept his in front of his face, shielding it from Eleanor. Eleanor didn't know if he was doing it because he was nervous or because he was angry with her.

She decided not to play any more games – she couldn't handle Fergal's silence anymore and needed answers. "So are we gonna talk about what's bothering you or what?" she asked.

Fergal put the menu down. "How did you know?"

"You haven't spoken a word to me since we got in my car," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Plus in the weight room you called me _Eleanor_. You _never_ call me Eleanor."

Fergal cracked a smile. "I do have an array of nicknames for you, don't I?"

"So what's eating you, Gilbert Grape?"

Fergal sighed and looked away, nervous about how to even begin. He should have planned this out beforehand. He didn't exactly want this to be some sort of interrogation and make Eleanor uncomfortable but he couldn't help it. "You…you know all the drama that went down last week? With you and Rami and that article and all?" he asked. Eleanor nodded her head. "Can…can I hear it straight from you? Because I…I don't want to make you paranoid or anything but I've heard some things."

"What things have you heard?"

"Well…Nattie told me she asked Bret if he'd heard the name before and he said something about you guys owning the Canadiens?"

"They were going bankrupt during the Great Depression and were being threatened with a move to Cleveland – my great-grandfather bought them so they would stay in Montreal. But he sold them eventually. We don't own them anymore," she clarified.

"So that portrait of that guy in the Bell Centre I pointed out to you…"

"That was him. Etienne-Mathieu Desjardins," she nodded her head.

Fergal took a moment to digest the information. "Okay…uh…the whole eight billion dollars thing…" he said awkwardly.

"Yes…that's true," Eleanor said, noticing the waiter approaching with their drinks. She quickly told him they would get the nachos to share so he wouldn't linger and disrupt their conversation. He left faster than he came. "I was born into it, Fergal. It's all old money. The Desjardins have been a very big deal in Quebec for a very long time. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked suddenly. "I mean, you and Rami trusted me enough not to spill on your relationship. Did you think I'd gossip about it or something?"

"Oh God, Fergal, _no_ ," Eleanor completely dismissed his line of thinking. "That's the farthest thing from the truth. I didn't even tell Rami at first," she confessed. "It's…it's been something that I've dealt with all my life. I have this, like, complex about it. It sounds stupid, but I do. Everyone I've ever met has had an opinion on it. I would tell them my name and I'd actually _see_ the light bulb go off in their head and them make all these assumptions about me. I didn't…" she paused. "I didn't want anyone where I worked to be making those assumptions."

"You must have met a lot of shitty people in your life," Fergal commented, causing Eleanor to laugh. "I mean it. If they did that, that's horrible."

"You don't even know the half of it."

"So it's like, a defense mechanism. You not telling people," Fergal clarified, trying to wrap his head around why she wouldn't say anything.

Eleanor nodded her head. "You know when you were huge in Japan and your face was on the subway trains, but then you went back to Ireland and barely anybody knew who you were?" she reasoned with him. He nodded his head. "It's kind of the same. When I'm in Canada, in certain places or social circles, _everybody_ knows who I am, even if I don't know them. But when I came here, nobody had any idea. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it felt."

Fergal began to understand where she was coming from. At the height of his career in Japan, he couldn't walk down the street without being recognized – even if fans didn't necessarily approach him, they would always make a gun with their hands or throw up the "Too Sweet" sign. For Eleanor to have experienced something remotely similar her whole life was a shock to him. He loved going back to Ireland for exactly the reason Eleanor said – hardly anyone recognized him. He began to understand now why she never said anything.

"If it's any consolation…nothing's changed. I still think the same of you that I did a week ago," Fergal said.

Eleanor had a playful smirk on her face. "And what's that?"

"Compassionate, determined, type-A diva who would colour-code wrestlers if she had the chance," he smiled mischievously, getting a kick to his leg from underneath the table.

XXXXXXXXXX

Colby had texted Rami the name of the restaurant he wanted to meet at – an old favourite of both for whenever Colby was in town. He picked it because he knew it was a discreet place, out of the way from where fans had picked up on where the NXT crowd hung out. It was an unassuming pub, and Colby and Rami both knew they wouldn't be bothered there.

Rami had arrived first – he wasn't surprised, he knew how busy Colby was these days – and took the liberty of ordering Colby's favourite craft beer and a water for himself. He wasn't sure either of them would be in the mood to eat, even though it was lunchtime.

After only about five minutes of waiting, Rami noticed Seth walking through the front doors. He scanned the room before finding Rami, walking towards him quickly. Rami didn't bother to stand up to greet Colby; he knew he probably should have, but he was still angry and would continue to be until an apology was issued. Rami was ready to lay everything out on the table.

"How've you been?" Rami asked as Colby sat down in his seat.

Colby shrugged his shoulders. "I've been alright. Been better," his tone was laced with a mix of contempt and sarcasm.

"Yeah, me too," Rami decided to play fire with fire. "Back in the day we actually used to call and check up on each other during injuries, see how we were holding up."

Colby shot Rami a glare. "You're right. Back in the day we also used to talk to each other about chicks."

Rami crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. "That's a bit rich coming from _you_ ," Rami said coolly. "The last time I was informed about your love life, it was from seeing pictures of your dick on the internet."

Colby was seething. Rami could tell, because of the amount of time he'd known Colby, but Colby was trying his hardest not to show it. "What is this really about?" Colby demanded.

"It's about you being rude," Rami said. "I've known you for ten years and you've never acted with such disrespect like that towards _anybody_ ," Rami said. "And we've met some _shitty_ people."

"Why didn't you tell me you were dating her?" Colby asked. "We tell each other stuff, Rami. We keep each other informed. I had to find out you were involved with someone through a _dirt sheet_ quoting a _tabloid_."

"Listen, we didn't want anybody to know. And I'm telling you, _nobody_ knew. My parents, her parents and brother – that's it. Nobody down in NXT knew. Not even Paul knew," Rami explained. "We didn't want everybody all up in our business."

"And Eleanor didn't want people finding out about her," Colby said.

Rami shrugged his shoulders. "You could say that," he looked away. There was a moment of silence between the two men. "So are you gonna tell me why you were so rude to her, or do I have to beat it out of you?"

Colby shook his head. "What is she even doing here, man? She's worth 8 billion dollars."

"Listen," Rami said sternly, leaning in. "I'm gonna say this one time, and one time only. That's nobody's business but her's, got it? I don't want to hear another word about it."

"Fine. Whatever."

"So why were you so rude to her?"

Colby shook his head again. "She's just…she's so unlike us! How can a girl like that be involved in a business like this? With people like us? People in this business backstab each other, they work for years to get to the top, they endure injury after injury and setback after setback just to have a two minute match on a three hour show and she's waltzing around with a giant smile on her face all the God damn time being so prim and proper and so nice -"

"Since when has being nice become such a foreign concept to you?" Rami interrupted his friend. "She's doing a _job_ , Colby. _Her_ _job_."

"Why does she have this job if she's worth 8 billion dollars?"

"Because she wants to be a meaningful contributor to society?! Because she wants to forge her own path?! Because she wants to, because she has the fucking right to be here just like anybody else?!" Rami threw suggestions sarcastically at Colby. "And here's a little tidbit of information for you, since you think she's incapable of doing anything good – she does everything for free. That nice salary Paul pays her? She doesn't collect a cent. She chooses a charity and donates her entire paycheque because she knows she obviously doesn't need the money."

Colby was taken aback by the information Rami just revealed. Her needed a moment to process it. "What? She…she donates everything?"

"Every last penny," Rami confirmed. "She's built schools for girls with that money. She's built maternity centres and hospitals with that money. So, technically, she's doing everything here for free."

Colby couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew Rami wouldn't make something like this up just to make Eleanor look good. This was real – this was Eleanor. Colby had called her a princess and thought she was as selfish and stupid as they come – and here she was, donating her entire salary. Colby couldn't even speak for how taken aback he was – for how utterly _wrong_ he was about the entire situation. And he'd made Jon in on it too – he felt like the biggest asshole alive. Truth be told, in that moment of cornering her in the hallway, he probably was.

Rami sighed, seeing that the gears were shifting in Colby's head and that he was taking everything in. Finally, _finally_ , the lightbulb had clicked in Colby's mind, and he was able to see Eleanor as something other than a stereotypical spoiled little rich girl. "I'm not saying she loves this business Colby – far from it. Not like you and I love this business. But she genuinely cares. She wouldn't go through the stress of her job if she didn't."

"I just…listen," Colby's voice was softer now, his tone more somber than before. "She rubbed me the wrong way, okay? My instincts were wrong about her. Fuck, I've been through so many assholes in this business that I thought I was able to tell them apart from the genuine people. But I was wrong…I was wrong about her." He looked at Rami, and knew what Rami was waiting for. "I'm sorry, Rami. I really mean it. I'm a fucking asshole."

"Apology accepted," Rami bowed his head in acknowledgement of the apology.

"Man…way to make me feel like shit," Colby half-laughed.

Rami smiled. "You made yourself feel like shit. I just gave you the facts," he said. "And besides – I've accepted your apology, but now you've gotta apologize to Eleanor. That's all that really matters here."

"I know. I will, next time I see her. That I promise you," Colby said sincerely, sighing again. "But until then…" he said, extending his hand. "We're good?"

Rami smiled and shook Colby's hand. "Yeah man, we're good. I mean…as good as we can be, since you're still not a Habs fan."


	24. Chapter 24

_This is a little bit of a filler chapter, but I still hope you enjoy. We might see later on how situations like this affect Eleanor more and more…although I don't want to give away anything too soon! I haven't written that far ahead yet (boo), but I'm working on it!_

 _August 15, 2015_

Rami, for the life of him, could not find Eleanor. It felt like hours since he last saw her in the bar. He was starting to think that she had left without telling anyone, but that was so unlike her, he knew it couldn't be true. Regardless, where the hell was she?

There was a huge group of NXT and WWE talent at the bar celebrating Saraya's birthday a bit early – SummerSlam week was taking over the actual day of her birthday, so she decided to celebrate the weekend before. Fair enough. Eleanor had been excited to have the weekend off, despite the proximity to SummerSlam, and be able to socialize with her friends and colleagues. Things were going well at the beginning – Eleanor was chatting everyone up, buying drinks, teasing Eric (Enzo Amore) on his unsuccessful attempts to pick up girls, but then Rami started to notice her pulling out her cell phone more than she should have been; he started noticing her giant smile fading ever so slowly; he started noticing how she was distancing herself and going off to the bathroom, only to come back 10, 15 minutes later. He knew something was wrong, but every time he asked her, she said she was fine.

Rami knew SummerSlam planning was hectic, to say the least. Eleanor had been working overtime for the last few weeks, making sure everything was to run smoothly during the upcoming week. Plus, it wasn't only SummerSlam she was preoccupied with – the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn special was its own behemoth and stress giant. Eleanor and Rami both knew everything would work out in the end, like it always did, but the stress leading up to the event would never subside in Eleanor, regardless of how many times she had been through the grinder before.

With Paul back in Stamford, and it being a Saturday, Eleanor should have gotten the entire weekend off, but that morning she needed to pop into the Performance Centre for about two hours. Rami had been looking forward to tonight for a while, and so had Eleanor, which is why it was confusing him that she was leaving more and more and not socializing with her friends, the people who had invited her to come, who wanted her to be there.

He'd asked Fergal, who shook his head. He'd asked Eric, who had shrugged his shoulders. He asked Mercedes, Becky, a drunk Saraya, all who had no idea, before he asked Alexis, who said she had to take an important phone call and went to find somewhere quiet.

When he finally found her, by way of asking the bartender who asked the bouncer, he was led to the manager's office at the very back of the bar, away from all the noise of the main room. He saw Eleanor with her phone against her ear, leaning against the wall. She had no reaction to him walking into the room.

Rami assumed the important phone call might be from Jean-Philippe, maybe from Margot, or her parents. "What's going on?" he asked, hoping that nothing was wrong.

Eleanor shook her head slightly. "It's Paul."

That set off silent alarms in Rami's head. He knew it was extremely close to SummerSlam and NXT Takeover, but Eleanor was supposed to have the weekend off. Paul was in Stamford, for crying out loud. "Can't you tell him you're out? That you're busy?"

"I've _tried_ ," she said, with a lot more strain in her voice than she wanted to let on. "You honestly think I want to be in here instead of out there with all of you?"

"Do you want me to talk to him? Say something? Tell him you're at a party?" he offered.

" _NO_ way!" Eleanor exclaimed as if Rami was crazy. Even though Paul was their boss, she saw that as highly inappropriate. Talent were allowed to get away with a lot more than the office workers, but she still saw Rami's suggestion as a bit overboard.

"Well then are _you_ going to tell him you're at a party and can't talk right now? People want to hang out with you, you know," Rami said.

"I'll be out in five minutes, I swear."

Rami knew he wasn't going to win. He shrugged his shoulders, giving up easily. "I'll be looking at my watch," he said, knowing that when she was in business mode, there was virtually no way to talk her out of it until everything was settled.

At least he knew where she was now.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Where's Eleanor?" Alexis asked as she took a sip of her mixed drink. Rami had been standing at the reserved table for the group, watching his friends getting drunker and drunker as he sipped on his water.

"Paul called her," Rami rolled his eyes. "She's talking to him in the manager's office in the back where it's less noisy."

"Does he always do this? Bother her on weekends?" Alexis asked again.

"Not usually. But because SummerSlam is next week, she's in overdrive mode right now. He won't let her catch a break."

"That sucks."

"You're telling me," Rami huffed. Just last week he and Eleanor had been interrupted just as they were about to do the deed. Paul had called Eleanor non-stop for about five minutes, not giving up until she answered the phone. He had her on the phone for so long that Rami fell asleep. Eleanor said she'd make it up to him but she hadn't yet – every night she came home, she was too tired to move.

Alexis could see how much it was bothering Rami to have his girlfriend tied up with work. Up until the phone calls started coming, Eleanor was having a grand time with everyone, and Alexis was really enjoying hanging out with her. Alexis herself would probably never understand all the workings of what happened backstage – maybe it was best she didn't know – but she _did_ know that it was the weekend, and they were at a party, and than Rami wanted to see his girlfriend. She looked out into the sea of their friends and saw them all having fun, then looked back at Rami, seeing his internal struggle – he was looking out at their friends too, but he wasn't really paying attention. "Hey, Rami…" she got his attention. "How about you go and be a wingman for Eric trying to pick up that girl," she nodded her head in their general direction. "If anything, I'll go find Eleanor and talk to her in a few minutes if she's not out."

He looked over and smiled at her, appreciating her sentiment. "Thanks Lexi. I knew you were still a sparkle queen under all that scowling."

XXXXXXXXXX

Rami had had enough now. Eleanor had been gone too often, for too long. What seemed like the last phone call wouldn't be – Paul would keep calling and calling and calling. She'd come out for five minutes, then go back for ten. He understood she was busy; he understood she had work to do and that their boss was very demanding. But she was at a birthday party, for heaven's sake, and the birthday girl had asked if Eleanor had gone home because she hadn't seen her in so long.

Rami stormed his way back to the manager's room, hell-bent on getting Eleanor out of it and back at the bar. This was not the way the night was supposed to go. He knocked to be polite but didn't bother waiting as he swung the door open. Eleanor was leaning back in the manager's chair, her one hand rubbing her temple while the other had held her phone to her ear. She looked at him and he could see her red eyes.

"People are at the bar _waiting_ to talk to you," he said, more harshly than he intended.

"Can't you see I'm working?!" she shot back at him.

"It's 10:45 on a Saturday night! You're not _supposed_ to be working!"

"Rami, please, just get out!" she begged him.

"Not until you come and join the party. How long have you been on hold with him?"

Eleanor stayed silent. She knew if she told him the truth he'd be livid. "Not long."

"Eleanor." She stayed quiet again. "If it's been more than two minutes I'm seriously gonna call him right now and tell him to leave you alone."

That, of course, was the absolute last thing she wanted him to do. "It hasn't been long Rami, I swear. When he comes back on the line I'll tell him to go to bed. I promise."

"Really?" Rami didn't quite believe her.

"I _promise_. I swear, Rami. I'll ignore his calls."

Rami swung his arms up in defeat. He didn't know if he could believe her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor had to wipe her eyes profusely, trying her hardest not to let any more tears escape. She thanked her earlier self for deciding to wear the waterproof eyeliner and mascara, but knew that wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things – the second Rami saw her, he'd be able to tell she had been crying. She sucked it up and left the manager's office, ready to join her friends.

She did what she told Rami she was going to do – she virtually yelled at Paul to stop calling her; that it was late and that he should be spending time with his family, not going over simple details for the NXT Brooklyn show and for SummerSlam. She was so fed up with him and his "Oh, just one more thing…" that she would have signed her soul to the devil if it meant she could get Paul off the phone. At the end of the conversation, she practically did.

"There she is!" Eric called out as he saw Eleanor squeezing her way through the crowd of people. "I thought you might have left," he said as she approached him.

"With you entertaining me here? Not a chance," she replied, smiling.

"Wanna go get a drink?" he asked, immediately feeling the need to want to see Eleanor Desjardins drunk.

"Yes _please_."

As the duo made their way to the bartender, Eleanor looked around the room, trying to find the one person she wanted to see most. "Where's Rami?" Eleanor asked as Eric ordered two tequila shots, a gin and tonic for Eleanor, and a beer for himself.

"He's somewhere. Probably with Fergie Ferg. I swear those guys have one of the most intense bromances I've ever seen."

Eleanor laughed at Eric's comment before nodding her head. "I know. I get worried sometimes. Sometimes they hang out together more than Rami and I do."

The bartender was quick in bringing them their tequila shots; Eleanor and Eric cheered to each other and took the shot before grabbing their other drinks. "In all seriousness though, I don't think you've gotta worry about anything with Rami at all. He goes on about you all the time like you're the light of his life."

"She _is_ the light of my life," Eleanor suddenly heard Rami's voice behind her. She spun around and greeted him with a quick kiss, garnering a sarcastic "Aww, smoochies!" comment from Eric. "You're finally out," Rami commented.

"I told him in nice terms that he needs to leave me the fuck alone," Eleanor revealed. "But, in typical Paul fashion, I had to sign my life away to do it."

Rami furrowed his eyebrows. "What's that mean?"

Eleanor sighed. "I uh…I agreed to be on Total Divas."

Eric choked on his beer. Rami's eyes bulged out of his head so far out Eleanor thought they'd pop out. "What the fuck?! Like as a cast member?!" he demanded.

"Oh God oh _God_ no!" Eleanor cleared up the mistake quickly. "Apparently the producers for the show approached him about having a 'strong female lead' on the show, like a businesswoman, besides Stephanie, to discipline one of the girls on behalf of Paul and Steph, and of course his immediate answer was me," Eleanor explained.

Rami tried to wrap his head around what Eleanor just told him. He couldn't believe that she actually agreed to be on national TV. "So…you're playing a character, basically."

"Basically."

"At least you get to yell at people," Eric piped in. "That's all I ever want to do."

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh at his comment. "They're going to forward me what's going to be happening sometime this week. I'm filming once we're all in town for SummerSlam."

Rami shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you agreed to be on a TV show. You barely wanted people to know who you were three weeks ago."

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever. Let's not talk about it now. I just want to have a good time right now."

Rami couldn't help but smile. "Your wish is my command, darling."


	25. Chapter 25

_August 22, 2015_

Eleanor had gotten her makeup done professionally countless times before, but she would always hate TV makeup. Artists had to slather on foundation and powder and eye shadow, just so everything would look good for the cameras. She felt like a doll, and not in a good way. With everything she had done that day to prepare for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, she was surprised that she was still awake. It was about two hours before show time, but Paul had given her 45 minutes to film the Total Divas segment.

Rami stood near her as a producer for Total Divas approached her, giving her the rundown of what was going to happen – Eva Marie did something against company policy and needed a slamming on her behaviour from an 'executive'. Simple as that. Eleanor loved how a 'reality' show was penning her as an executive. It was probably her favourite part about this whole ordeal.

"We're gonna need you to give her a real lashing," the producer said. "Imagine yourself as the CEO of a major company and one of your employees tweeted out something, or a photo got leaked, or they disrespected someone backstage," the producer went on. Eleanor tried her hardest to keep her laugh in. "Pretend you're like Vince McMahon."

"Okay," Eleanor nodded her head, barely able to control her smile. If only the producer knew.

Rami had been watching the entire time, flabbergasted by the entire thing. He had obviously seen the Total Divas cameras around a lot, but he never figured someone so close to him would be in the show. He still couldn't believe Eleanor agreed to do this, without a name change or anything. It was telling, really, of how far she had come, from not wanting people to know who she was to suddenly embracing everyone knowing. It was the right thing to do, he thought, because the more she accepted and acknowledged it, the more others would accept and acknowledge it too and not make it awkward.

As the producer left to make sure the room where the scene would be taking place was ready, Rami approached his girlfriend. "You get to yell at _Eva_. You're living out every wrestling fan's wet dream right now."

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh, but she swatted Rami from her position still in the make-up chair. "Stop it! She's a nice enough girl," she tried defending Eva. "Plus, I'm _acting_. Didn't you hear him? I have to pretend to be _Vince McMahon_ ," she giggled.

"Are you gonna do the Vince McMahon walk?" Rami asked, flailing his arms about.

"Ha! You wish."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Alright! So! Here's how it's going to work," the same producer who told Eleanor to act like Vince McMahon was now directing her, Eva, and the cameramen. "I'll read what the voice-overs will say from the various divas, then _you_ ," he nodded his head toward Eleanor, "will walk into the room looking very busy, while Eva is sitting at the desk waiting for you."

"No script?" Eva asked.

"You're very scared and apologetic, she's very harsh," the producer said simply. "Ad-lib what you want. We can do a few takes."

Eleanor felt like she was back in high school rehearsing for a school play. She noticed Eva smile at her. "Lay it on me, girl!" Eva giggled.

At least Eva was a good sport about it. Before Eleanor left the room, she listened to the producer read the voice over. "Okay, so Eva we are going to get to record to say something along the lines of " _Eleanor Desjardins…like, if you work for WWE, you don't want to ever be called in by her. She is so well respected and to think that she has something to say to me about what happened – I'm not feeling very good about this."_

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh. Maybe this would be fun after all.

"Then, Natalya will say another voice-over: _'Eleanor Desjardins works directly for Triple H, Stephanie McMahon's husband, who is the EVP of Talent. She may not be a boss, but she's a_ _ **boss**_ _.'"_

"At least they got something right," Eleanor mumbled to herself, although, of course, there was still no mention that she was just an assistant – the show made her out to be someone so important.

"Let's run the scene!" the producer yelled, getting everyone to scramble to their places.

 **[[SCENE]]**

Eleanor walks in to the office, speaking on the phone with someone and carrying a large script in her other arm, not greeting Eva as she sits down at the desk. Finishing her phone conversation, she is telling the person on the other end that she is sitting right in front of Eva. Eva breaks out into a nervous sweat.

" _So, Eva, I'm speaking to you right now because Paul is busy with production and he can't be taken away from such an important job to come to one that shouldn't even be happening in the first place._ "

Eva looks even more nervous than before. _"Okay_. _"_

Eleanor looks at her sternly. _"Right off the bat I'm going to say that this discussion should not be happening,"_ she began. _"I don't think you realize how incredibly fortunate you are to be in the position that you're in, and for you to do what you did is not only beyond rude, it shows your ignorance about this business, and it shows the blatant disrespect of the opportunity we're giving you."_

Eva gulps. _"I'm so sorry."_

Eleanor shakes her head. _"I don't think you are sorry. I think you're a spoiled brat who is apologizing only because you got caught,"_ Eleanor says. _"If I had the power you would have been gone from this company a long time ago. Unfortunately for me there are actually some people in this company who believe in you. And you've let them down."_

Eva looks down in embarrassment. _"I'm so so sorry,"_ Eva apologized again. _"I don't know what to do to make the situation better."_

" _You can't do anything. It's done now, and nothing can fix it. If there's another incident like this, you won't even be fired from inside an office. It'll be on the spot,"_ Eleanor says. _"Do you understand?"_

Eva nods her head. _"I understand completely."_

" _You can leave now,"_ Eleanor dismisses her coldly. _"And I hope I don't have to talk to you like this under similar circumstances ever again."_

As Eva walks towards the door, she stops and turns back to face Eleanor. _"Miss Desjardins, I just want to reiterate that I know how lucky I am to be given this opportunity in the WWE, and that I'll do anything – if there's anything – that will help mend this situation."_

Eleanor looks up from her phone, already preoccupied with something else. _"Don't you have work to do?"_ she asks. _"The NXT stars I know don't have this much time to be dilly-dallying all the time. Get to work or I'll find something for you to do."_

With one last nod of the head, Eva opens the door and leaves the office.

 **[[SCENE]]**

Out of the corner of her eye, Eleanor could see that the producer had a giant smile on his face. "I think that one take is all we need."

XXXXXXXXXX

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn was probably the only time that Eleanor loved having her giant headset on. The feeling backstage was electric. The show would start in half and hour, and the crowd was riled up already, chanting, cheering, making as much noise as they could. She stayed backstage, her headset directly connected to Paul's in the production room. A "We Want Bayley" chant broke out. _God_ , she loved NXT.

As she was directing a production intern to run a message to Fergal, she felt a presence behind her. She turned around slowly to see Colby standing and waiting for her, Zahra a few feet behind him. Zahra was looking her dead in the eye while Colby's eyes were fixated on the floor.

"Hi Colby," Eleanor said as pleasantly as she could. "Hi Zahra. Are you guys ready to go to your seats?" she asked.

"Just about," Colby answered, finally looking at her. "Before we go, I uh…I just wanted to say something," he said, pausing. Eleanor's eyebrows rose in curiosity. "I wanted to apologize for that night at Raw. I…that night I called you pr-"

"I remember," Eleanor interrupted him quickly, not wanting to hear the name again.

"Yeah, I just…I'm sorry. I was a dick," he said.

Eleanor nodded her head, acknowledging that she agreed he had been a dick. "Thank you for apologizing," she said, pretending to fix her headset. When she was nervous, she got fidgety, and she didn't know if he or Zahra were going to say anything else.

Before Colby could say anything else, Joey Mercury had called out to him, getting his attention. Colby took the opportunity to escape the situation, clearly uncomfortable about the fact that he had to swallow his pride in order to apologize to her.

Eleanor was left alone with Zahra, who had been looking at her skeptically the entire time. "How have you been feeling, Zahra?" Eleanor asked politely, knowing that she had suffered an injury not too long ago.

"Better, thanks," Zahra shrugged her shoulders, her voice flat. "How've you been?"

"Good, thanks," Eleanor said.

There was an awkward silence between the two women, Zahra still not taking her eyes off of Eleanor. "So, you and Rami, huh?" she asked. Eleanor nodded her head. "I wouldn't have put you two together," she commented.

"Really?"

"I guess I just didn't think of you as one to fraternize with the talent," Zahra said.

Eleanor knew where this was going. She understood Zahra's backhanded compliments completely. _'I didn't think of you as one to fraternize with the talent'_ didn't mean 'I didn't think of you as one to fraternize with the talent because you're a busy, highly invested office worker'. It was an 'I didn't think of you as one to fraternize with the talent because you think you're better than everyone else'. "I guess I'm shocking a lot of people these days," Eleanor commented.

"Looks like it," Zahra said quickly. "I can't believe it's you and _Rami_ of all people."

"Why?"

"Rami's the biggest sweetheart," Zahra said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but her tone made it seem like she couldn't understand how a nice guy like Rami could end up with a presumed bitch like Eleanor. "And he's just so passionate about this business. I didn't think he'd hook up with anyone."

"Oh." Eleanor didn't know where Zahra was going with this.

"It's okay. I can see why you guys are together," Zahra continued.

Eleanor furrowed her brows. "You can see _why_ we're together?" Eleanor asked for clarification. She was fed up with Zahra's subliminal messages. "I wouldn't tread this water if I were you. Stop while you're ahead."

"Why? Will I get in trouble?" Zahra asked sarcastically, a smirk on her face.

"You're already _in_ trouble," Eleanor deadpanned, shutting Zahra down. Zahra's face immediately changed from her sarcastic smirk to one of complete seriousness, knowing exactly what Eleanor was talking about. There had been quiet rumblings on the internet for the past few days about some posts Zahra had made on Instagram and Twitter before she had been signed by WWE that were making the rounds. Eleanor didn't have the power to actually do anything about it, but she was nonetheless informed of the situation. "I wouldn't want to get further into the doghouse if I were you," she gave Zahra a cheeky piece of advice before grabbing her stacked scripts and walking away, leaving Zahra in the hallway.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Paul…why do I suddenly have two hours off for lunch tomorrow?" Eleanor asked into her headset, reading the newly revised schedule for tomorrow Paul had sent out minutes earlier. NXT Takeover was supposed to start in less than half an hour; she had no time for mistakes. "Is that a glitch?"

"No, no…I need you to do something for me," he said into his headset, his voice sounding a bit distracted. "I have a really good opportunity for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I've uh…I've booked you in to do an interview kind of thing."

"An _interview kind of thing,_ " Eleanor's voice was skeptical. She knew he would go and do this without confirmation or consent from her. "What the hell do you mean _a kind of interview thing_? I've already been on Total Divas, for God's sake."

"You know how these guys out there have wrestling podcasts. Well one of them approached us about getting an interview with a person who works backstage. Not one of the higher-ups, just an everyday type of person. So immediately I thought of you." Eleanor shook her head at the revelation. "It would only be 30 minutes. Nothing super long."

"I don't know Paul…I don't know -"

"You know the guy, Sam Roberts? He's a guy we trust. It'll all be cool."

Eleanor shook her head and sighed into the headset. "Why do you do this to me? I didn't even want anybody knowing who I was a few weeks ago," she repeated Rami's sentiment from when she told him she would be on Total Divas.

"You're a good kid, Eleanor. You get nervous and worked up about it but you're gonna be fine," Paul said, trying to ease her nervousness. "Half an hour, no big deal."

Eleanor sighed again. "Fine," she relented. The things she did for this company…


	26. Chapter 26

_This is the longest chapter I've ever written! Hope you all enjoy it! I will have a SummerSlam Part 2 chapter up soon because I know not much happens here._

 _XXXXXXXXXX_

 _August 23, 2015: SummerSlam, Part I_

Eleanor chewed at her lip as she turned to look at Rami. "I'm really nervous," she said quietly. She'd had a really busy morning, and was already tired – and she still had to do the podcast.

"Don't worry, darling," Rami said, kissing her forehead and grabbing her hand. "You're gonna do great. Paul wouldn't have put you up to do it if he didn't think you'd do a good job."

"Sometimes I think he just likes to torture me," she bellowed, caving into him and resting her head on his chest. "I don't even know what to say. I've never done a podcast before!"

"You'll be okay," he assured her again. "Sam is a good guy. He'll give you some good prompts, make you feel really comfortable. Plus…you'll have me there."

Eleanor looked up at Rami to see him smiling down at her. "You're gonna come with me?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'll be out of camera shot but I'm gonna be there for you," he said.

Eleanor rested her head on his chest again. "You're the best."

Eleanor was still nervous as the pair walked to the area of media where Sam was set up. Sam recognized Rami from quite the distance away, and his face brightened up as he waved to him. Rami waved back and not long after, Rami was introducing her to Sam.

"You must be Eleanor Desjardins," Sam said, extending his hand. "Paul had so much to say about you."

"Good things, I hope," Eleanor commented.

"He wouldn't stop. At one point I just had to say 'okay, okay stop! We'll take her!'"

As Sam explained the podcast to her and showed her how everything worked, Rami stood off to the side watching with pride as Eleanor seemed to calm down and joke around with Sam. When Sam pointed out where the cameras would be set up, he noticed Rami standing behind one of them and gave him a funny look. "I'm supervising so you don't traumatize her," he smiled.

Sam laughed and nodded his head. "Fair enough."

Soon enough, everyone was hooked up to a microphone, camera angles were ready, and the podcast was ready to go.

/

" **We are here at SummerSlam in Brooklyn, chatting with the WWE and NXT Superstars. However…however…some of you viewers have been asking about whether or not we could get a non-Superstar guest on the show to shed some light on other aspects of the WWE we never get to talk about. Well, your wish is my command, as we now have someone with us who is ready to answer all our burning questions about…well, anything. Please welcome Eleanor Desjardins. Eleanor, what's the haps?"**

Eleanor smiled. _"The haps is busy…but the haps is good. Thank you for having me on your podcast."_

" **Thank you for agreeing to answer our questions! We know things like this can sometimes seem as a bizarre request,"** Sam said.

" _Not bizarre at all! Hit me with your best shot,"_ she countered.

" **Well, let's get started then! First, let us know about your position and exactly what you do in the WWE."**

" _Sure…as you said, my name is Eleanor Desjardins. I came into the WWE almost four years ago. I'm currently the executive assistant to uh, Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H. I'm based down in Orlando so I work a lot with Paul when he is running NXT, but I do travel to Raw shows often to help him there. In terms of what I do…I do everything,"_ Eleanor laughed _. I mean, when you're an executive assistant you play every role in the book. I keep his schedule – and make sure he's on schedule – I take meeting minutes, I organize NXT superstar schedules, especially during major events like Wrestlemania or this SummerSlam weekend, I handle media, I take coffee orders, I record possible creative storylines, I run scripts, I edit scripts, I sometimes supervise promos…"_

Sam smiled. **"So it's a bit obvious that you're a do-all type of person."**

" _Exactly. Anything that needs to be done, I can be tasked to do it."_

" **How did you get into the wrestling business? Were you a fan before and you made it your life mission to get hired by the WWE? Or was it pure fluke?"** Sam asked.

" _I wasn't a massive fan growing up – I was more so a casual fan because I had an older brother, and for a period in time he and his friends were into wrestling, so I kind of latched on. But I'm generally a sports fan – so for me, the WWE was always on my radar as like, a sports corporation, you know? Even thought I didn't actively watch it, I knew it was still there and that it was successful. So I never really made it my life mission to get hired by the WWE. I simply just put in my job application one day – the position advertised to be an executive assistant for an executive of a major corporation. And because I'm so type-A, and colour-coding and organizing things is my own personal nirvana, I applied. It wasn't revealed to me until after I was hired for the job that it would be for Stephanie McMahon."_

" **Did you know who she was?"**

" _Oh yeah, I knew exactly who she was. So because of that I moved to Stamford, where WWE Head Office is based, and I worked as Stephanie's assistant for about a year…year and a half. Then Paul took control over NXT, and it started gaining momentum, and Stephanie could see he was getting more and more stressed because…well…Stephanie is great on her own, like she's a very organized person in her own right, but Paul is just a mess compared to her,"_ she laughed, causing Sam to erupt in some laughter as well. _" So she saw how stressed he was getting and figured that he needed me more than she needed me, so she approached me and asked me if I was open to transferring, and if I was okay with moving to Orlando. Of course, I agreed, and that's where I've been for the last two years. I'm sorry the story probably isn't as interesting as people want it to be."_

" **No, no! You're doing fine! Listen, a lot of wrestling fans will take anything and make it very very interesting, so you have nothing to worry about,"** he assured her.

" _Alright cool. I'm just worried that I don't have one of those cool stories, you know? Like a lot of the superstars are like 'Yeah man, I busted my ass for ten years in the indies before I made it to WWE' or 'I've wrestled all over the world to try and get on the WWE's radar' and I'm here, just like, 'Oh, I answered an ad on a website.'_

" **Yeah – I answered an ad on a website and I'm now working next to two of the most powerful people in the business."**

" _Yeah! Like it's super-weird, in a way."_

" **Well, there is a lot more interest now – more than ever before – on sort of the backstage rumblings of the WWE. The backstage politics, if you will. What do you make of that fascination?"**

" _I mean, I understand their fascination in a way, but at the same time it is a bit weird. Because the people I work with – I mean, they're people just like you and I. They have their ups and downs, they have their good moments and bad moments, and of course, at the end of the day the WWE is a business. People don't want to see the backstage politics of The Home Depot or Sears but they want to see what goes on behind closed doors at the WWE. I kind of get it. I think because I didn't grow up a huge fan I maybe don't see the fascination in it as much as I should-_

" **You gotta stop selling yourself short, girl!"** Sam interrupted her, laughing. **"You've worked in this industry for four years now!"**

Eleanor couldn't help but giggle. " _I know, but it's true! I mean I can wax poetic to you about the NHL because I've been invested since I was in the womb – I can't particularly say that with the WWE, because I became an employee first, fan second. I was never a fan first, employee second. But, I mean, I'll tell you…I think the interest is just a testament to how successful WWE is, and how much it's connected with fans all over the world. That could be said for the entire wrestling business in general, because, like, this sort of stuff happens with New Japan Pro Wrestling as well, you know, or other wrestling promotions around the world. Everyone wants to know who's booking which match, who's producing which segment. Some people want to know because they want to know who is responsible for it when it's crap and want to blame that person for everything – others want to know because they're simply lifelong fans of the business. At the end of the day, people are invested in the backstage politics because they're invested in the product – end of story."_ She noticed Sam nod his head at her answer. _"Many people will hate me for saying that, or violently disagree with me, but it's true. They just don't want to admit it. You don't care so much about one superstars booking because you're just a casual fan or because you hate the WWE and just 'hate-watch' it – you care because you care about the product. And if people are caring so much about backstage politics because they are actually invested in the product, then the WWE is doing their job._

Sam smiled as she got to the end of her answer. **"Very well said."**

" _Thanks."_

" **You're getting the hang of this really quick!"**

" _Oh God, I hope so!"_

" **So do you find the people you interact with – superstars or otherwise – have a certain respect for what goes on behind the scenes? Or do a lot of them just kind of shrug you off, like 'Oh, she's just in the office' type of deal?"**

Eleanor hesitated for a moment, a quick flashback of everything that had ever been said about her – whether to her face of behind her back – buzzed through her mind. " _I think most of them do. I think the ones who have been in the business for a very long time have a certain respect for what goes on behind closed doors. I mean, look – I'm not making any of the booking decisions. I'm not choosing the next champion or who's going to get 'future endeavoured'. But those who really get the business, who understand the ins and outs of it, do have a certain respect for what goes on behind the scenes. And, I mean, listen – that's not always the case. You're always going to have your exceptions – you'll have that business veteran who just shrugs you and your work off, and you'll have that newcomer who is very respectful. It depends on the person, it depends on the personality._

" **Of course."**

" _I've had fellow office workers on more than one occasion shrug me off because my position isn't as high as theirs, even though I work directly for Paul. I've had people call me a glorified maid behind my back, or refer to what I do as 'bitch-work'. That gets incredibly frustrating. That's when I get angry, because there's no respect for work whatsoever – and I'm not that type of person just to wave someone off because they clean the floors or run scripts to the talent. In a business like the WWE everyone has an integral part to play, and to downplay someone's role is incredibly disrespectful, not to mention rude._

" **I bet they wouldn't say that stuff in front of Paul,"** Sam commented.

" _Oh God, are you kidding? If he heard anyone talk like that God knows what would happen to him or her. He's a guy that has so much respect for the business; he can't stand that type of attitude."_

" **You're more or less in the front lines down at NXT. Do you agree that there's sort of a wrestling renaissance happening down there?"**

" _Oh definitely. I think if you look at the amount of talent that's been put on the network just this past year alone…it's crazy to think that they're all here, at one time, at NXT. I mean, you've got Finn Balor, you've got Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze, Kevin Owens, Hideo Itami, Neville, Sasha, Bayley, Charlotte, Becky, I mean the list goes on. It's an embarrassment of riches! These people are so talented and they're putting on such great matches – it's no wonder people are referring to it as a wrestling renaissance."_

" **Working so closely with Paul, can you reveal anything to us that we might not know about him?"**

Eleanor smiled mischievously, wondering if she should go down the road her mind was taking. " _Oh gosh, he's gonna kill me for this. He's one of those people who has a fairly complicated coffee order. If I'm told to do a Starbucks run he's the venti extra shot non fat extra hot latte."_

" **Oh my God!"** Sam erupted in laughter. **"You've gotta be kidding me!"**

Eleanor couldn't help but giggle too. " _I know! I wish I was but I'm not. Regal's got the least complicated order – grande Earl Grey, one sugar, splash of milk. Paul's is like the government code to get the nukes."_ Sam laughed again at her statement. _"Oh my God he's gonna kill me. He's gonna have my head the next time he sees me!"_ she buried her head in her hands.

" **Man oh man…good on you for remembering that. I would have lost it after venti. Okay, so, what's the craziest thing that has happened to you while working for WWE?"**

" _From a business standpoint, Wrestlemania weekend is always insane. This year I was responsible for planning and co-ordinating all the NXT talent's schedules, and I felt like a chicken with it's head cut off. I was busier than a porcupine at a balloon factory."_

Sam put his hand up to stop her. **"Busier than a porcupine at a balloon factory – I think that's the most amazing thing I've ever heard."**

" _My dad used to say it a lot, and I've picked it up. On the inside I'm a 60-year-old man."_

" **Any other crazy stories? There's gotta be some good ones."**

" _Well…I can tell you the most awkward, which is when I walked into my office one day – my office is like, adjacent to Paul's – and I saw Vince McMahon in there and he asked me to give him a tour of the Performance Centre. I was with him for over an hour."_

" **Over an hour?!"**

" _It was legitimately the most nerve-wracking experience of my life. Obviously, he knew all of the answers to the questions he was asking me, but he wanted to see if I knew."_

" **Did you pass?"** Sam asked.

" _With flying colours."_

" **Awesome. So who is your favourite current wrestler? Do you have a favourite former wrestler even though you admitted to not having been that much of a fan in the past?"**

" _Aww man, that's a tough one. You know, even though I watched it all years later and couldn't appreciate it when it was happening at the time, I love Stone Cold Steve Austin! But you know what…I'm gonna have to go with Bret Hart, being a fellow Canadian and all -_

" **Wait wait wait, you're Canadian?! That changes the whole interview!"** Sam exclaimed.

" _Yeah man! Canadian born and bred."_

" **That's amazing. Thank you for that. And your favourite current wrestler then?"**

" _Oh goodness…you're really putting me on the spot here,"_ she pretended to think long and hard. Rami was standing behind the camera giving her an 'Are you being serious right now?!' look, as if she had any other option. She loved making him sweat. _"I've gotta go with Sami Zayn. Cesaro is a close second. What he can do in the ring is phenomenal."_

" **So I guess I can assume that your favourite recent match has been the 2 out of 3 falls match between Zayn and Cesaro."**

" _Isn't that_ _everybody's_ _favourite match?"_ she asked rhetorically, getting a laugh out of Sam. _"It's an instant classic."_

" **It definitely was. One of the best matches ever in NXT…even in the WWE in the last ten years,"** he commented. " **So, for the last part of the interview, we're going to ask some spitfire questions – just say the first thing that comes to mind,"** Sam explained. Eleanor nodded her head.

" **Favourite finisher?"**

" _Stone Cold Stunner. Or Neville's Red Arrow."_

" **Favourite submission?"**

" _Oh God, the Romero Special. I think it's absolutely incredible. Also, I know I'll sound weird saying this, but it looks like it feels good! And again, the sharpshooter is a close second. It also looks like it feels good…like a nice stretch, just like the Romero."_

" **Favourite city to travel to?"**

" _Hmm…I think I'd probably choose New York City, because it's so easy. Other than that, any Canadian city. Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver…"_

" **And the last question that will divide everybody's opinion on you: best fans?"**

" _For this I have to go with my hometown of Montreal. There's a reason why they call it bizzaro world."_

Sam smiled at her last answer. **"Eleanor, thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to talk to us today!"** he said, extending his hand for a handshake. **"Hopefully this isn't the last time we'll be talking to you."**

" _I hope not! This was really fun. Maybe in the future everyone will have more questions I can answer."_

/


	27. Chapter 27

_Ugh, I'm the WORST. I know I said I was going to post a quick update, but work got extremely busy, then I left for a vacation and didn't have my laptop with me! I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me! I hope this chapter somewhat makes up for it._

 _XXXXXXXXXX_

 _August 23, 2015: SummerSlam, Part II_

"Elle, how's it going over there?" Paul asked into the headset. Things were frantic backstage, and Ellie had been running around for the better part of the show, but it wasn't as bad as Wrestlemania. John Cena and Seth Rollins were battling it out in the ring – she knew that Colby was touted to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and win the United States Championship. She had met Jon Stewart earlier in the show and couldn't wait to see how the fans would react to his interference in the match. Rami had been hanging out with old friends all night – the most recent she'd seen him with was Kevin Steen. She'd have to find him later but didn't think that would be too hard.

"It's going well, Paul. I have a few of the Divas already lurking around," she informed him, letting him know she wouldn't have to be running after them last minute. The Divas were never bad with that sort of stuff – they were always on time; it was the men she was always chasing after.

"Good. When Claudio and Steen are up I want you here in the production room," he told her.

"Sounds good, boss. I'll be there," she confirmed the request before hearing him address someone else into the headset.

"Elle!" she suddenly heard her name being called. She looked around to see the culprit, finally noticing Mercedes waving her over.

Eleanor walked over to her. "What's up?"

"You and Rami are honest to God the cutest couple around here," she said suddenly, a girlish giggle escaping her lips. "You rival Nattie and TJ. Must be a Canadian thing."

Eleanor couldn't help but blush. Mercedes had always been nice back when she was full-time at the Performance Centre. Eleanor missed her ever since she'd gone on the road. "You called me over right before your match to tell me _that_?" Eleanor smiled.

"I had to! Gotta keep spreading the pooowah of positiviteehhh!" she exclaimed, mimicking the New Day.

Eleanor laughed as well. "You're absolutely ridiculous. But thank you."

"I was creeping on you guys before, being all smoochy smoochy," Mercedes confessed. "Seriously, it's like, sickening how cute you guys are. Talk about perfect match."

"You think so?" Eleanor asked, remembering back to Zahra's comments the night before, about her being surprised that Rami would be with someone like her.

"Uh, _yeah_ ," Mercedes said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Clearly you guys are crazy for each other. I mean, I know I'm just a bystander, but _I_ can see it."

"Some people don't seem to think so."

"Fuck 'em," Mercedes responded immediately. "It's you and Rami in the relationship, not you and Rami and the rest of the locker room."

Eleanor nodded her head understandingly. "You're right," she said. Regardless of what anybody else thought or said, she and Rami loved each other, and that's all that mattered. "Thanks Mercedes. I miss you."

"I miss you girl. One of these days after Raw, we need to go for drinks – _no boys allowed_ ," she smiled, insinuating their respective boyfriends.

"I'd _love_ that," Eleanor smiled, garnering a squeeze of her shoulder from Mercedes. "We'll set something up soon."

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor did as she was told earlier in the night and made her way to the production room where Paul and countless others were directing the show. She recognized almost all of the faces, as production personnel rarely changed, and when it did, it was a big deal. They nodded politely at her as she walked into the room, noticing Paul near the middle. He waved her over and she walked towards him, wondering what he needed from her.

"What would you like me to do, Paul?" she asked.

"Grab a chair, sit down," he said casually.

Eleanor looked at him strangely, thinking he was maybe talking to someone else and not to her. "Uhh…Paul? What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Like I said, grab a chair and sit down," he repeated. "I want you to see how the production happens here."

Eleanor couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you being serious right now?" she asked. Paul had never asked her to sit in on the production of a live show, let alone one of the major pay-per-views.

"Yup, grab a -" he put his had over the microphone on his headset and called out to no-one in particular, "Can someone get a chair over here for Eleanor please?"

Within seconds Road Dogg had given up his seat to Eleanor. She thanked him politely before pushing it closer to Paul. "Are you sure about this?" she asked Paul discreetly.

"Yes! Sit back and take it all in," he said, deeming that the end of the conversation and focusing his attention back to the TV screen.

She sat down behind Paul, making sure to seem as inconspicuous as possible – she was only supposed to be an observer, after all. Road Dogg had found another chair and was seated beside her.

Eleanor watched as the likes of Paul, Road Dogg, and others directed the matches and camera angles for the last two matches. Despite not necessarily doing anything, she was learning a lot – no wonder Paul always sounded distracted whenever he talked to her while he was in production. She also understood now why the production area was fairly far away from where most of the backstage action was – nobody in the room would be keen on distractions or interruptions.

During Brock Lesnar and Undertaker's match, she felt the vibration of her phone in her pocket, only to see a text from Rami.

 _Where are you? I have been waiting all day for this dinner._

She and Rami had organized dinner with Nattie, TJ, and Claudio after SummerSlam was said and done. She was excited to hang out with Nattie again, and had been looking forward to it as long as Rami had been.

 **Just in the production room with Paul. I'm watching how everything works.**

 _Um, that's kind of a big deal. Maybe Paul is gearing you up for something?_

Eleanor didn't even want to think of that possibility at the moment. She ignored the text message and shoved her phone back into her pocket before refocusing on the Brock/Undertaker match.

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor couldn't help but stare lovingly at Rami – who was embarrassed out of his mind – and pet his hair jokingly as Claudio continued to poke fun at him. As they were having dinner with TJ and Nattie at a pizzeria close to the arena in Brooklyn, Claudio took it upon himself to entertain them all night with details of Rami's shenanigans as El Generico. Rami had, of course told her _some_ stories before, but nothing to the extent that Claudio was revealing – probably because Eleanor never asked.

"He's freakin' nuts sometimes. He almost got us detained at Heathrow Airport! He thinks he's being nice and thorough by explaining where he went and what he did, but it makes customs agents suspicious!" Claudio joked.

"Oh please!" Rami finally piped up to defend himself. "It was one hundred times easier for _you_ to get through customs with your fancy shmancy European passport -"

"You have a Canadian passport bud! That's like, the second easiest to travel with after the European," Claudio interrupted.

"Pfft, not when your name is Rami Sebai and you have a beard like mine," he commented.

" _Regardless_ ," Claudio smirked, looking at Eleanor straight in the eye, "pretend you don't know him at the airport. I beg you. I'd hate to hear you got detained because of him."

Eleanor giggled at Claudio's advice. "I'll keep that in mind." She paused for a moment, letting everyone calm down from their giggles. "Have I ever told you guys about the time Rami sat on a piece of art?"

Claudio and TJ's eyes lit up like they had just won the lottery. Rami suddenly sat up from his sulking position. "No no no no no no nononono," he tried to silence Eleanor, even going as far as to try and cover her mouth with his hand before she whacked it away. "No no no no please don't," he begged.

"Tell us tell us tell us!" TJ chanted, playfully slapping his fists down on the table. "Tell us!"

"We were at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Montreal with my nephew and nieces. Rami went to go sit on what he thought was a bench, but it turned out to be part of the collection," Eleanor revealed. TJ, Claudio, and Nattie were cackling. "All these alarms started to go off and nobody in the room had any idea why until four security guards ran towards Rami yelling at him to get off the art."

Claudio and TJ were laughing so hard they could have squirted water out of their nose. Nattie had facepalmed out of mock embarrassment. Rami hung his head in shame while Eleanor told the story. "We were at a _contemporary_ art museum! It's all modern 'art' that nobody is supposed to understand!" he tried defending himself. "It's not my fault the stupid thing looked exactly like a bench!"

"You're hot garbage man," TJ teased him. "Really hot garbage. I can't believe you _sat_ on a piece of _art_."

"Top three Rami moments, for sure," Claudio continued, getting another shake of the head from Rami.

"Can we get off the topic of me and on to another subject please," he begged, not being able to take much more of the embarrassing stories. "Nattie, there's gotta be something embarrassing that TJ's done."

Nattie shook her head. "Not as entertaining as you."

"Come on!"

Eleanor loved this. She loved the camaraderie she had with Nattie, TJ, and Claudio – how conversation flowed naturally, how everything was in good humour. It reminded her of her relationship with her friends back home. Most of all, the joking aside, she loved how much they genuinely cared about Rami. They wanted to see him happy. It was good to know that, despite comments from others the past weekend or differences other people may have, Rami chose to surround himself – and by extension, her – with people that truly cared about him. That was the most she could have asked for, and she knew she had it with the people sitting around her.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, how did you like what happened today?" Paul asked. He and Eleanor had just finished a conversation about what would happen on Raw the following day and what she would need to do before she got to the arena. Rami had long since gone to bed after the dinner with Claudio, TJ, and Nattie, but of course Paul had to keep Eleanor up.

"I was surprised when you pulled me in to production," Eleanor admitted. "That's a big deal, Paul. Especially for someone like me, being only an assistant."

"Yeah, I guess," Paul said nonchalantly. "But what about Sam Roberts? The podcast? Or Total Divas?"

Eleanor immediately knew what he was getting at. "I didn't particularly like it," she admitted. "Sam was great – very nice guy – and I guess the podcast will turn out fine, but you _know_ I hate doing that type of stuff."

"I was thinking that maybe you can keep -"

" _ **No**_ ," Eleanor cut him off forcefully. "No. I'm not going to do anything else. I know what you're getting at and you're getting a big fat no from me."

"El-"

"I'm an assistant Paul – _your_ assistant. I'm not going to become some poster-woman for the backstage and office workers of the WWE or NXT. I'm supposed to be _behind_ the cameras, not in front of them," she said in the most serious tone she could muster. "I'm serious. It stops here. You're not getting anything else from me."

Paul sighed into the phone. "Well, I can't say I didn't try. Just for the record, it wasn't particularly my idea. Steph really likes you…she was the one who brought it up."

"I don't care whose idea it was. I want to go back to being unknown. I want to go back to being just Eleanor, being 'hey, you', being 'come over here and do this'. That's what I'm good at. That's what I want to be. You need to promise me you're not going to ask me to do these things anymore when you know full well I hate doing them," she said.

"Well what about all the stuff you do in those magazines? The Desjardins stuff?" Paul asked innocently.

He unknowingly hit a nerve. "The Desjardins stuff is my family, Paul. It's philanthropy work. It's different. And if it makes you feel any better, I still don't like doing that either. But you don't know my mother and have never tried to say no to her. But that's besides the point," she rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. "Just…don't sign me up for these things anymore, alright? I'm your assistant. Let me be your assistant," she said, looking over to the clock on the bedside table that read 1:17am. "And let me go to bed."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Paul said without another word, hanging up.

Eleanor sighed as she plugged in her phone to charge before slipping underneath the covers beside Rami. She hoped she was clear enough that Paul wouldn't try to pull anything anymore. It was a hectic and stressful time, and the added stress about Total Divas and the podcast had her on edge. She didn't want to constantly feel this way. This wasn't what she signed up for.

As she snuggled into Rami, he instinctively wrapped his arm around her as she got closer to him, his body bringing her warmth. She pulled the covers overtop them as Rami moved his head to kiss her forehead lightly. His lips stayed there as he mumbled, "I love you."

Eleanor's body relaxed as she heard the words. They would never get old. "I love you too."


	28. Chapter 28

_August 31, 2015_

Usually the time after SummerSlam was a time of relaxation. There was no major pay-per-view until Survivor Series, so Eleanor thought she would be able to go about her business and have her job return to normal. She and Rami would get back into the swing of things after all of the stress, and everything would go back to normal.

That, of course, was not the case.

Almost immediately after she set foot in the Performance Centre, William Regal grabbed her on the arm. He pulled her aside and made sure nobody was around before he started speaking. "We're letting Zahra go," he stated simply.

Eleanor's eyes bulged out of her head. "Are you serious?" she asked.

Regal nodded his head. "You saw how it caught fire on the weekend?" he asked. Eleanor nodded her head – Zahra's compromising tweets had made public rounds on the Internet. Every dirt sheet and even TMZ had picked it up. It was a PR nightmare. "Well, then, you understand why then."

"Shit," Eleanor swore, looking away from Regal for a moment. She thought about the possible fallout that would result from the situation. "Colby is gonna be upset," he said.

Regal shrugged his shoulders. "I know. But what are you gonna do? You can't go around posting that stuff and expecting everything to be okay."

"He's going to try everything in his power to get her to stay," Eleanor said.

"He can't do anything. The decision has already been made. We can't have that here," Regal shook his head. "If Vince can erase Hulk Hogan, he can erase Zahra."

As always, William Regal was spot on. Eleanor nodded her head and pursed her lips, looking around, as he did, to see if anybody was around. "Do you think they're making the right decision?" she asked, although she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"Abso-fucking-lutely," he said, nodding his head once. "You know me, I don't tolerate that garbage."

Eleanor nodded her head again, unable to say much else as her thoughts ran rampant. She thought back to last week when she saw Zahra and Colby backstage at the NXT event. Zahra wasn't in the happiest of moods, for whatever reason, and then Eleanor had to insinuate Zahra was in the doghouse. She knew it would come back to haunt her somehow. "Are you giving her the bad news?" she asked.

"No."

"Good. Think I can hang out in your office until it's over and done with?" Eleanor asked.

"Well, of course," Regal agreed. "But why?"

Eleanor sighed. "I saw Zahra and Colby at NXT Brooklyn. She was saying some things -"

"What things?"

"—Basically insinuating she 'knew _why_ I was with Rami', and I told her not to tread that water, that she was already in the doghouse and she shouldn't get into even more trouble," she explained. Regal smirked as she spoke. "I don't exactly think I'm her favourite person right now."

Regal couldn't help but chuckle as she put his hand on Eleanor's shoulder. "You'll be safe with me, darling. Let's get to work."

XXXXXXXXXX

It was 12:15 when Eleanor decided to break for lunch, carrying her Tupperware to the kitchen to heat up in the microwave. She spotted Fergal and waved him over, and soon Lexi (Alexa Bliss) joined them in the kitchen as she heated up her own meal in the microwave.

"Did you guys hear the news?" Lexi asked as she stirred her food around before putting it in the microwave again. "Zahra got fired this morning."

Fergal's eyebrows rose. Eleanor faked astonishment. "Really?"

"You mean you didn't know?" Lexi asked Eleanor.

Eleanor knew she would have to tell a little white lie, just in case anything got back to Zahra by word of mouth – things spread incredibly fast through the WWE locker room, as she knew all to well. "I had no idea. I'm not told that sort of stuff," she said.

"Is this because of that Instagram stuff?" Fergal asked.

Lexi nodded her head. "You betcha. It's nuts. _She's_ nuts. I can't believe she would have that sort of stuff online," she said. "She was pretty upset when she left today. She was going to call Colby."

Eleanor's phone began to buzz in her pocket for an incoming call. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to see an unknown number flash across the screen. A confused look took over her face before she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Did you know about this?" an unfamiliar voice practically yelled.

"Who is this?" she asked into the phone. Fergal gave her a strange look.

"It's _Colby_ ," he revealed himself.

Eleanor's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. Speak of the devil. She knew she would be the first one to experience the fallout from this whole situation. She walked out of the kitchen area and in to the empty hallway so Fergal and Lexi wouldn't hear the conversation. "How did you get my number?" she asked, genuinely curious. None of the superstars, save for a select few friends, had her cell phone number. Colby must have had to ask multiple people in order to get it.

"Did you know Zahra was going to be fired?" he completely ignored her question.

"No!" Eleanor exclaimed.

"You're lying!" he accused her.  
"Colby, I'm not lying."

"Yes you are," he said definitively. "Zahra told me _you_ told _her_ in Brooklyn she was in trouble and _now_ she's fired. What the fuck?" he demanded.

Eleanor had had enough. "Colby, how many times does it have to be reiterated to you that I have _no_ fucking power backstage," she demanded right back at him. "I'm an _assistant_. Nobody listens to anything I have to say, alright? The powers that be decided to fire her, not me."

"Spare me," he said sarcastically, making Eleanor's blood boil even more.

"Have you ever given thought to the fact that what happened was Zahra's fault and not the fault of anyone else? _She's_ the one who posted fucking Nazi photos online and made racist comments!"

"I know you're lying to me."

" _How many times will I have to say it until it gets through your thick skull_ ," she enunciated her words sharply, her tone full of disparagement. At this point, she didn't care if she was being disrespectful – she needed to get her message across. "I am not responsible for another person's actions. I know you don't like me but this is uncalled for. For you to even think I had something to do with this is horrible."

"I'm going to ask you one more time, did you know she was going to get fired?" he asked.

"And I'm going to tell you one more time, _no_ ," she responded emphatically.

She could hear Colby breathe heavily on the other line, either to calm himself down or wind himself up. She could never tell with him. "Who _did_ know?" he finally asked, in a voice a lot calmer than what he started out with.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Who knew she was going to get fired? If it wasn't you."

Eleanor felt like strangling him. "Nobody here, Colby. Only the higher-ups. Paul, obviously. I don't know who else. I don't think even Regal knew," she lied, not wanting to drag him into getting an angry phone call from Colby – although he'd probably get one anyway.

Colby mumbled something incoherently before the line went dead. He'd hung up on her out of frustration – Eleanor figured as much. She sighed heavily, wanting nothing more than to bang her head against the wall.

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor dropped by Rami's place after work, exhausted from the drama at work that day. She stuck her key in the door and walked in without hesitation. Rami was in his kitchen, cooking dinner for the two of them. He looked at her over his shoulder. "Hi darling," he said casually, focusing back on the stovetop.

"Hi love," she greeted him, swinging her purse on to the counter top. She walked up behind Rami and wrapped her arms around his waist. They stood in silence for a few moments; the only sound between them was of the water boiling for the pasta. "Did you hear the news?" she asked.

"Zahra? Yeah. Fergal texted me," he said. He raised his arm and wrapped it around her, bringing her to his side.

"I got an angry call from Colby today," she whispered.

"What? Why? Because of what happened with Zahra?"

"Yeah. He seemed to think I had something to do with the firing," she explained.

"Do I need to talk to him again?"

"No, no, it's fine," Eleanor shook her head against his body. "I get why he's angry. I just wish he didn't think I was some gremlin planning evil plots against him."

"What did you say?"

"I told him 'I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I don't make the decisions.' He didn't believe me at first but eventually he kind of, sort of, maybe relented before hanging up on me. I guarantee he's still pissed though."

"He's a hot head sometimes," Rami shook his head. It seemed like just yesterday that Colby had apologized to her – now he was calling her screaming on the phone. It was like a vicious cycle.

"You'd know better than me," she shrugged her shoulders. "I just have to deal with the fall out."  
"I wish you didn't."

She shrugged her shoulders again. "It comes with the job."

"So what now?"

"He's just gonna have to deal with it. There's nothing that can be done. She made some really racist comments, and she posted Nazi-related imagery. Nobody can save her. Not even him," she explained.

Rami nodded his head in understanding. Eleanor was right – there was nothing anybody could do about it – even Colby.

Rami and Eleanor ate their pasta in relative silence, talking casually about what else had happened at work that week and what Eleanor knew about what was going to happen on Raw. After washing the dishes and retiring to the couch and cuddling with each other, Rami placed soft kisses on Eleanor's forehead. She could tell something was on his mind, but she didn't want to press him.

After a few moments, Rami decided to speak. He shifted his head slightly so he could look at her, but they were still cuddled in each other's warmth. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Do you…are you…" he hesitated, not sure how to pose the question. "I mean, do you want to be Paul's assistant forever?" he finally asked. "Do you want to do something else?" his voice was soft.

Eleanor stayed silent, the weight of the question looming in the air. Her lack of response made Rami feel the need to fill in the void. "Because I've been thinking a lot about you – more than usual – and about us, and our life together. And I want you to know I'll support anything you want to do, whether it's here, or somewhere else, like back in Montreal, or with your dad -"

"Rami -" she interjected softly.

"Let me finish, please?" he asked tenderly, his eyes pleading for her to listen, as if he had rehearsed this in his head a hundred times. She nodded her head. "I want you to be happy Eleanor. I want you doing what _you_ want to do, not what Paul wants, or what I want. You were so stressed at Saraya's birthday and throughout SummerSlam and I just…I want you to be happy," he told her.

Eleanor nodded her head again, tears forming in her eyes. She processed everything he had to say – how sincere he was when he said he wanted her to be happy. She knew this was going to be one of _those_ conversations, so she was ready to let Rami know about her anxieties of the future and what it would hold. She looked at Rami as he pushed some stray hair behind her ear. "What's your dream job?" he asked.

Quite the loaded question. Eleanor didn't know how to respond. "I can't see myself being Paul's assistant forever," she said, looking down. "But dream job? Honestly? I have no idea. Maybe get a better position within the WWE or within NXT, but that means staying in Florida."

"You don't want to stay in Florida," Rami said as more of a statement than a question.

Eleanor shook her head. "I either want to travel or be back in Montreal. That's my home, Rami. That's _our_ home."

"I know, I get it," he nodded his head. "And if you want to do that, if you want to be back in Montreal, you can. You should. Especially if it's going to make you happy," he encouraged her.

The thought of moving just when their relationship was at a pivotal moment gave Eleanor the shivers. She couldn't – didn't? shouldn't? – move back just yet. "I've thought about maybe going to work for Montreal Canadiens head office, if I could get a position." She never considered anything to do with her art because she wanted to keep it as her hobby. She didn't want to do it so often and for so long she'd end up hating it. She'd already expressed this to Rami so he knew not to ask. "But then that…that would mean…" she couldn't finish her sentence.

"What's on your mind, darling?"

"Rami…" she began, a single tear falling down her cheek. "I'm scared of what's gonna happen when you go on the road," she confessed.

"Why?"

"I'm not going to see you as often – even _less_ if I move back home. It's going to be hard for me. I love you Rami, I love you so much I can't stand being away from you. But I feel that's so selfish of me. You've been doing this since long before I got here...but…I just can't help but feel that in some ways, we're on borrowed time. I won't be able to sleep next to you every night like I do now. I will hear your voice through Skype or phone calls and not face to face," she rambled, all her emotions coming out at once.

"Please don't worry about stuff like that," he said, giving her temple multiple kisses to soothe her.

"Why?"

"Because there's no need. We're not on borrowed time. We're not that couple that's going to disintegrate because of distance."

"How do you know?"

"I just _know_ ," he said confidently, planting a few more soft kisses on her temple. "I love you Eleanor. I'd do anything for you, for us."

Eleanor sighed, hearing the words she wanted to hear, though the memories that were coming back to her in her mind were a lot more painful. "When I was 20 I met this guy and he became my world," she began a story. She felt Rami had the right to know why she was so insecure about the travel schedule and them being apart. "I was young and thought he was the be-all, end-all. I had been toying with the idea of moving to Toronto for university, and since he was from Ontario he kept trying to convince me. But the more time went on the more I didn't want to leave Montreal," she explained. Rami was listening attentively. "I went with him when he moved back and stayed at his student residence in Toronto for two weeks, and we had this huge blowout fight. He said to me, _'I want you to be here. If you go back to Montreal, I won't wait for you.'_ And I said, _'Then don't. Don't wait for me.'_ He told me, _'You're not worth it.'_ And that was that. I went back to Montreal, heartbroken, and he stayed in Toronto, and I never heard from him again."

The look on Rami's face was livid. "What a fucking jackass," Rami deadpanned, and Eleanor couldn't help but laugh. "I'm serious. Who is this guy?"

"His name was Chris Robinson."

"I don't want you thinking I'm _anything_ like Chris Robinson, or that our relationship would end up like that," Rami said firmly. "I'm serious. I'd fly cross-country if it meant I could be with you for an hour. I'd fly to Montreal to meet you in an airport for ten minutes. You're _always_ worth it Eleanor. _Always_."

Eleanor grabbed Rami's face and brought him down to kiss her. Their lips lingered over each other's for a few moments before Rami decided to pull away slightly and speak again. "I want you to promise me you'll do what makes you happy."

Eleanor kissed him quickly. "I promise," she whispered as she nodded her head, understanding the severity and the weight behind Rami's words. It almost felt like a giant weight was escaping her mind, like her anxieties about the future were eased now that she and Rami had had this talk and cleared the air on some major things plaguing the future of their relationship. Now, all she had to do was figure out what she wanted her next steps to be.

Easier said than done.


	29. Chapter 29

_Hi everyone. Hope you enjoy this next update! We get an appearance from an old friend of ours…_

 _September 18, 2015_

Though it was only mid-September, fall was in full swing in Chicago. Eleanor knew this was just a cold spell for the city – she had been to Chicago in September before and it was never this cold, the wind never this harsh. She wished she'd brought a better jacket. Florida weather spoiled her.

"So where's Rami taking you tonight?" Nattie asked as she and Eleanor sat together in the Divas locker room. Eleanor was applying some new makeup after cleaning off the old makeup. It was almost the end of Raw and Eleanor had no work left to do. She knew Rami was taking her 'out', per se – they were meeting up with one of his old friends.

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders before taking out her liquid liner. "I have no idea. He said we're going to visit one of his old friends who lives in the area and wanted to meet up. I assume it's an indie guy."

"And he didn't mention any names?"

"Nope," Eleanor said, applying the liquid liner.

"No restaurant? Nothing?" Nattie kept asking.

"Nothing," Eleanor repeated.

"That's a bit fishy, don't you think?" Nattie asked.

Before Eleanor could answer, a knock came at the door. Considering the person knocked, the girls knew it was a male. Nattie answered the door to see Rami standing with his small suitcase. "Is my lady ready?" he asked.

"Just applying my eyeliner!" Eleanor called out, hearing his request from where she was sitting. Rami waited patiently at the doorway chatting with Nattie as Eleanor finished her makeup and packed everything away back in its bag in her purse. She hung her suitcase from her elbow and grabbed her small luggage before walking to the door. She gave Nattie a quick kiss on the cheek goodbye before she and Rami left for the underground parking. While there, Rami said goodbye to a few more friends before he jumped in the driver's seat and punched in the address they were headed to on his phone.

"So…are you going to tell me where we're going?" Eleanor asked as Rami maneuvered through the streets of Chicago. "You've been awfully mysterious."

"I told you, we're going to see an old friend," Rami said nonchalantly.

"Does this old friend have a name?" Eleanor pestered.

"Of course he does."

Eleanor waited, thinking Rami would finally come out and say it. He stayed silent instead. "And that name would be…?" she prompted.

"Phil."

For a moment, Eleanor wondered why Rami hadn't told her about this friend sooner. Why was it such a big deal that he couldn't tell her until they were literally en route to meet with him? Then it hit her. "What's the big deal about keeping your friend Phil from Chicago so secr – _wait_ ," she paused. "Phil, as in, Phil Brooks? CM Punk Phil Brooks?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Eleanor didn't necessarily go into panic mode, but she suddenly became nervous about the fact that she was going to see the man who publicly quit the company. If Paul found out, he'd have a hernia. Scratch that – Paul must know some of the supestars are still friends with Phil; he can't exactly prohibit them from seeing him. Rami looked over at her, noticing her silence on the matter. "I feel a bit like I'm crossing enemy lines," Eleanor said to him.

"Why?"

"Well, that podcast he did with Colt Cabana didn't put the company in the best light. And he made it very clear that he hates my boss."

"Well, yeah, but you're not your boss. He doesn't hate _you_ ," Rami reasoned.

"True, but still. It's like a Habs fan going into Leafs or Bruins territory."

Rami chuckled. "You _would_ make a hockey analogy," he reached over to grab her hand. "But you honestly have nothing to worry about. He's a great guy. If you're feeling uncomfortable, I'm sure April will be there."

"I'll take your word for it," Eleanor smiled, knowing she really had nothing to worry about. If it really went horribly, she could always call it a night and catch a cab back to the hotel and let Rami stay with Phil. It wasn't like they were going to go wild with drinking and strip clubs.

When the pair finally reached their destination, Eleanor noticed they weren't meeting Phil at a restaurant, but instead at his house. She wished she had brought something to seem more welcoming. Rami buzzed in and Phil let them park in the underground garage before they took an elevator up to his main floor.

Phil was waiting for them on the other side. Eleanor stood behind Rami so he'd see him first. They hugged and exchanged the usual pleasantries – how are yous, you look really fit – although Rami had to cower away from a friendly punch and reminded Phil of his surgery.

"Phil, this is my girlfriend, Eleanor," Rami introduced them, his hand on the small of her back, pushing her forward.

"It's really nice to meet you," Phil smiled at her as they shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Eleanor smiled as well, even though she had met him countless times before. "I'm sorry I didn't come with some sweet treats or anything – Rami didn't tell me we were coming _here_ until five minutes ago!" she tried to make a joke.

"Don't even worry about it," Phil waved her off. "Our dog Larry would probably get to it before I could. Besides, Rami has a knack for lateness – he once asked me for 100 Wrestlemania tickets…the day of Wrestlemania."

"Yeah…sounds like him," Eleanor laughed before shaking her head at Rami. "You've gotta work on that."

"You love me," he stuck his tongue out at her. He left Eleanor with Phil as he ventured inside the condo, looking around to see the source of the other voices. She looked back at Phil, only to see a curious look on his face.

"You're Paul's assistant, aren't you?" Phil asked, looking her up and down. She nodded her head, not saying a word. Phil smiled at the revelation. "I remember you," he revealed, his voice soft.

"You do?" she asked. Back then, she was more so in the background, working with Stephanie. Phil left the company about two months after she had been transferred to Paul.

"I remember you in Stamford, with Steph. Then a little but with Paul. You're in Orlando now?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm Paul's right-hand woman at NXT."

Phil cracked a smile. "So you got promoted?" he asked sarcastically, leading the way further into his condo.

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh at his comment as she followed beside him. "You could say that."

"And that's where you met Generico?" he nodded his head towards Rami. Eleanor nodded her head again. "That's awesome. Good for you, kid. You happy down in NXT?"

"Oh yeah. I love it."

"Better than Stamford?"

"A hundred times better than Stamford. I worked with Dusty everyday. I work with Regal everyday. I'm living a wrestler's wet dream."

"Phil laughed at her comment. "You definitely are, that's for sure."

Before she could say anything else, a loud "ELEANOR!" emanated from the kitchen. She spun around to see Chris Spradlin – Chris Hero, Kassius Ohno, who knows what other name he was known by – smiling widely and rushing over to her. He grabbed her and picked her up, garnering a scream from an unsuspecting Eleanor. Phil chuckled as he walked back into the kitchen.

"Hey, I thought I was supposed to be the main event!" Rami yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.

"How can _you_ be the main event when _Eleanor's_ here?!" Chris asked rhetorically.

Eleanor couldn't believe Chris was so happy to see her. They'd gotten along while he was down in NXT but she didn't think she'd made that much of an impact on him. "How are you doing these days?" she asked after Chris set her back down on her feet.

"I've been good. Keeping busy, you know. How's the old stomping grounds over in Florida?" he asked.

"It's good. Really fun. Less pranks now that you're gone," she smiled.

"That's no good," he smirked, shaking his head. "How's Regal been?"

"He's good. He's taken over Dusty's old job, which fits because he's the best guy to do the job."

"You can say that again. The man is a genius," Chris agreed.

"How do the indies feel now that you've had a taste of the WWE?" Eleanor asked.

"Both have their perks, but the indies feel like home, you know?" Chris shrugged his shoulders. Eleanor nodded her head in understanding – a lot of guys found it tough to leave after having fought in various promotions for so long. Fitting the so-called WWE mold wasn't easy; Eleanor was fully aware of this. "I can't believe you're here with Rami. When he told me you guys were dating I think my jaw dropped on the floor."

"Really?"

"I was upset more than anything," Chris said mischievously.

"Why?"

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just upset Rami got to you before I did. So is the rest of the locker room from what I hear."

Eleanor rolled her eyes. "They had a year and a half to _'get to me'_ , and no-one did, so I doubt _that's_ true."

"Don't knock yourself short, darling," Chris said. "The boys have had many a conversation about you and how good looking you are."

"Doesn't you telling me this go against some backstage code?" she asked with a smirk.

"I'm not backstage with them anymore. I'm free as a bird."

"Did you ever participate in these discussions?"

Chris smiled wryly. "Once or twice."

"You're gross," she giggled.

"At least I'm admitting it! Rami would be in them too – hell, he'd _start_ most of them!"

"Yeah, but we're dating now, so he's forgiven. _You_ on the other hand…" she trailed off.

"Why me?!"

Before their discussion could go any further, Rami had called her into the kitchen to meet Scott Colton – otherwise known as Colt Cabana. Phil had explained to her that April would be back soon – that she was having dinner with a friend in the meantime.

"So Rami tells me you're a huge Blackhawks fan," Eleanor said, trying to keep the conversation going.

"You betcha."

"How does it feel to love the second best team in the league?" she teased.

Phil's eyebrow rose. "Second best? We won the Stanley Cup last season, missy."

"That may be, but your team will never be as awesome as the Habs."

A giant smile covered Phil's face. "Habs fan huh? No wonder Rami likes you," he quipped playfully. "I used to be a huge Patrick Roy fan, but I gotta support my hometown team, you know? The Habs have enough fans."

"Whatever you say," she rolled her eyes jokingly.

"Still though, I'd love to go see a Habs versus Hawks game at the Bell Centre. It's the biggest arena in the NHL and I hear it has the best atmosphere in hockey or something," he said sarcastically. _Everybody_ who was a hockey fan knew the Bell Centre had the best atmosphere for hockey. Nobody could deny it.

Eleanor smiled. "Let me know when you want to go," she said before she even realized what was coming out of her mouth. "My family's got season tickets."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. And, uh, Scotty Bowman is one of my brother's godfathers."

"What?!"

"Yeah..."

Phil paused for a moment, registering the information that he was talking to a friend or relative of one of the most successful and legendary men in hockey. "Are…are you that girl who took Rami to that dinner?"

Eleanor nodded her head. "You read about that too?"

"No, one of my friends told me," Phil revealed. "Nobody said anything about knowing Scotty Bowman."

"That's because few people know."

"How'd that come about?"

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. "My dad befriended him back in the day when Scotty was in Montreal, and they got close, very close, so my dad asked him to be one of Jean-Philippe's godfathers. Stan Bowman used to babysit him sometimes, before I came along."

Phil was flabbergasted at the information being revealed to him. "So if I called Scotty Bowman right now and asked about your brother, what would he say?"

"He'd say Jean-Philippe threw up on his suit after the church ceremony and he had to hold him strategically in all the pictures to hide the stain," Eleanor said.

"Woman!" Phil exclaimed. "You can't just come into _my_ house and spring this information on me!" he yelled, getting the attention of the other men in the kitchen.

"What information?" Colt asked.

Phil pointed to Eleanor emphatically. "This chick's brother has _Scotty Bowman_ as his godfather."

"Who's Scotty Bowman?" Colt asked.

Phil let out an angry groan and Rami slapped him upside the head. "Honestly Colt, just get out of my house," Phil yelled at him, pointing to the door. "You come in here with that shit…" he trailed off.

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh at the situation that was unfolding before her. For one, she had never been so open with someone she barely knew; she'd only known Phil from a professional standpoint and she had already told him he could use her season tickets _and_ told him about Jean-Philippe's godfather. For someone who used to want to remain as inconspicuous as possible, she was being pretty open.

"Hey, you guys are staying over tonight, right?" Phil asked suddenly, more so to Rami than to Eleanor.

"Uhhh…" Rami stuttered out, forgetting that he hadn't told Eleanor about Phil's offer weeks before.

"Oh Phil, that's so kind of you, but we can't burden you like that," she said. "I couldn't -"

"Nonsense! You guys aren't a burden at all! And it's not like we don't have the room," he motioned with his arms to the entirety of the condo. "You guys can get the nice guest room, and Scott and Chris can fight over who gets the third bedroom and who gets the couch," Phil said, having figured everything out already. "Seriously, we'd love to have you. Plus tomorrow morning we can go for pancakes," he winked at her.

How could she say no?


	30. Chapter 30

_October 11, 2015_

Eleanor loved the holidays. It didn't matter which holiday – Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, hell, even Valentine's Day and stat holidays she could get off work; she loved every single one of them. She loved how the holidays made her feel, how they brought her closer with her loved ones. Now that she got to spend them with someone she truly loved, she was even more ecstatic to be celebrating.

She and Rami had agreed to split the celebration of Canadian Thanksgiving between their two families – Sunday at Eleanor's, Monday at Rami's. They had flown in to Montreal from Orlando late Saturday night and had gone directly to bed – it was only now, on the morning of Thanksgiving, that they were unpacking. They'd brought more than usual, knowing that they had an extended stay in Montreal. Wednesday was the start of the NHL season, and they'd be attending the Montreal Canadiens home opener game, as per Eleanor's birthday gift to Rami. Rami decided to invite Henri along, who couldn't stop talking about _finally_ seeing a Habs game with 'Uncle Rami', and had invited Fergal too, who would be flying in on Wednesday morning. Fergal thanked his lucky stars that NXT didn't have a taping that Wednesday, or else he would have missed the opportunity to watch his very first hockey game.

As Eleanor helped Rami unpack, she noticed that he had a particularly festive Fair Isle style Christmas sweater folded amongst his other clothes. She unfolded it and held it up for him – he was in the bathroom steaming his dress shirt. "What's this for?" she asked.

Rami looked over. "Don't you know?" he asked back.

"…..Noooo….."

Rami almost blushed as he finished steaming his dress shirt and stepped out of the ensuite bathroom. "Your mom called me about a week and a half ago, asking me if I wanted to be included in the family Christmas card this year."

Eleanor didn't know whether to laugh or cry. To think that her mother would call him asking to be on the Christmas card – Catherine _never_ did that to any of Eleanor's other boyfriends. Eleanor bit her lip to stop herself from getting too emotional. "And?" she asked again, wanting to hear the entire story from him.

"And I said even though I don't celebrate it, I'd absolutely love to. She told me it gets mailed to a lot of people, so I thanked her profusely for including me in something so serious."

Eleanor couldn't help but let out a laugh. "It is serious. That card goes to the Trudeau family and the Prince of Wales," she revealed.

Rami slumped his head down. " _Why_ didn't you tell me _before_ that this went to the future King of England?!" he let out an exasperated sigh. "I could have started beauty treatments, got my hair cut, maybe tan a little bit…"

Eleanor giggled as she skipped over to Rami, wrapping her arms around his waist. He wrapped his around her shoulders as she stood on her toes to kiss him. "You're the best," she whispered, her lips centimetres away from his face.

"You're in prime position for a Bayley-to-belly suplex," he responded.

Eleanor snorted. "Don't even think about it."

XXXXXXXXXX

Rami was glad someone suggested to walk off the enormous meal he just ate – he didn't think he was ever so full in his life. The Thanksgiving feast was amazing to say the least – all cooked by Catherine, Eleanor, Margot, and Charles. _'No cooks in the Desjardins house'_ Catherine had informed Rami. _'That was common with my mother and her mother, but that doesn't fly with me.'_

They had taken the family Christmas portrait before any of the cooking or eating commenced. A professional photographer had come in for about an hour to get what seemed like hundreds of shots of the family at various locations and in various poses around the Desjardins' house. Rami had worn his Fair Isle sweater and smart sport coat and slacks – very Christmas-y, he thought. Eleanor wore a cranberry coloured lace dress with sleeves and a statement necklace. Jean-Philippe and Margot had gotten knit reindeer sweaters for Rosaline and Elodie, and of course, Henri was in his favourite knit Montreal Canadiens sweater. Jean-Philippe and Margot dressed much the same as Eleanor and Rami – Jean-Philippe in a patterned sweater, Margot in a deep red dress. Even Catherine and Charles donned some knit sweaters. It was all very lovely, very family oriented, Rami thought.

Rami joined Eleanor, Jean-Philippe, Henri, Rosaline, and Elodie for a walk around the neighbourhood – Catherine and Charles had stayed back, along with Margot who was setting up some crafts for the kids to do once they got home. As they walked through the winding streets of Westmount, Jean-Philippe and Eleanor would fill Rami in on the inhabitants of certain houses.

' _There, in number 134, is Claude Brossard. His son Claude Jr and I were in the same grade. When we were six he punched me in the face and my dad had a stern talk with his dad. He's always kept it a point of pride that he punched a Desjardins kid in the face. But that's okay, because I've scored over 50 goals against him throughout our hockey days.'_

' _This is Anita Everett's house. She once spread a rumour about me in high school that I seduced one of Jean-Philippe's friends and that apparently made me a Lolita, but nobody believed her, not even the girls who didn't like me. She was always weird.'_

' _How about in here, Eleanor? The Pearse kids? What an amazing family. You know, even though they moved to Switzerland, to this day we still get postcards and Christmas cards from them.'_

In some ways, Rami wished he could say the same sorts of things about his neighbours. But he moved around as a kid, eventually settling where his parents still lived when he was around ten. He didn't have the same neighbourly connections as Jean-Philippe and Eleanor did. Despite not having a lot of money and having to share a small house with four brothers and his parents, he wouldn't trade his upbringing for the world. He had a very happy and loving childhood, in the same strain as Jean-Philippe and Eleanor – just with different circumstances – and that's all he needed.

As they approached a park with a small playground, Eleanor raced Henri and Rosaline to it while Rami stayed back with Jean-Philippe. They watched intently as Eleanor played with her niece and nephew, grabbing them and helping them on the monkey bars or sliding down the slide with them.

"So…" Jean-Philippe began, breaking the silence between them. "What uh…what were you thinking engagement ring wise?" he asked. Truth be told, it was Margot who wanted Jean-Philippe to ask – not because Jean-Philippe didn't want Rami to be a member of the family, but because Jean-Philippe didn't want to worry Rami or make it seem as if he was rushing him into proposing. Hell, Jean-Philippe had waited 10 _years_ to propose to Margot – they started dating at 15, and he proposed when they were 25, both of them out of law school and business school. And here he was, asking Rami about engagement rings, and it had been less than a year.

Rami took his focus away from Eleanor and looked at Jean-Philippe. "Uh…"

"You've thought about it, right?" he asked.

"I've been thinking about it since we had tacos in the park," Rami said quietly, almost to himself.

"When was that?"

"Our first time out together. Before we even started dating," Rami revealed.

Jean-Philippe couldn't help the smile that crept its way onto his face. "So when you _do_ propose, what were you thinking?" he asked.

Rami took a deep breath. "Well, my mom has some old jewelry that belonged to my grandparents from back in Syria – family heirloom stuff, and the rose gold rings are, in my opinion, the prettiest. So I was going to ask my mom for one of the rings and find a diamond to put on it."

Jean-Philippe smiled widely at Rami's idea. "I'm glad you have this all figured out. But don't worry about the diamond. We have a lot in the Desjardins family collection – you can come see it, choose one that you like, and we can get our jeweler to create the ring for you. It's nice and symbolic…something from both families," Jean-Philippe said.

"The _Desjardins family collection_?" Rami asked. Of course the Desjardins would have their own collection of jewelry. _Of course_.

"We've got a tiara in there, man," Jean-Philippe revealed.

"A tiara?!"

"I think it was like, my great-great…maybe one more great grandmother's? A duke from England was in love with her, even though she was married already, and gave her the tiara, thinking it would coax her away from her husband. It didn't."

" _Jesus_ ," Rami shook his head, laughing slightly.

Before Jean-Philippe could say anymore, Rosaline rushed towards them with a giant smile on her face. "Uncle Rami! Tatie said you'd help her swing me back and forth on our walk home! Will you?!" she asked excitedly.

"Obviously!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hand on the side of his healthy shoulder, watching Eleanor and Henri run towards them.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _October 12, 2015_

Eleanor wouldn't mind if she had Rami's mom's food every day for the rest of her life. She'd had Arab and Middle-Eastern food before – it was some of her favourite – but none of it could even compare to Rami's mom's food. She'd eaten way more than necessary, but Rami's mom was only happy to scoop more food into Eleanor's plate whenever she saw the food supply get low. Eleanor couldn't resist; she would have eaten the entire plate of mahshi if nobody objected. When Eleanor asked Rami's mom to give her some recipes and cooking lessons so Eleanor could cook the same food for Rami in Orlando, Eleanor swore she saw tears in her eyes.

As Rami's mom put together some recipes for Eleanor, Eleanor sat at the coffee table with Rami's niece and nephew, Maryam who was four and Ali who was three, and Rami's youngest brother, Anwar. Ali was sitting in Eleanor's lap, colouring furiously at the picture that Anwar drew for them. Anwar was a budding artist, and much to Eleanor's delight, he was pursuing it more seriously than she ever did. They spoke at length about it while the kids coloured and drew their own pictures, Ali staying nestled in Eleanor's lap while Maryam sat beside her, drawing furiously. Rami was in a food coma, sleeping on the couch next to his two older brothers.

"Tatie Eleanor," she heard Maryam's voice beside her, speaking up during Anwar's time in the bathroom. "Are you and Oncle Rami staying for a long time?"

"We're staying until Thursday night," Eleanor informed her.

Maryam did the math in her head. "Three more days?" Eleanor nodded her head. "That's longer that what Oncle Rami usually stays."

"I know, habibi," Eleanor decided to throw in an Arabic word Rami taught her, meaning darling or sweetie. "It's because we're going to a hockey game. But then we have to go back to work in Orlando."

"I want you guys to stay forever. You're really nice, and Anwar likes you, and Anwar doesn't like _anybody_ except us," Maryam smiled. Eleanor giggled at Maryam's honesty – all children were brutally honest, which was one of the things Eleanor loved most about them. She couldn't help but think Maryam was repeating the sentiments of Henri, Elodie, and Rosaline she'd heard countless times before, about staying in Montreal. "Oncle Rami loves you, and I love you. So I want you to stay."

"I love you too Maryam."

"Do you love Oncle Rami like he loves you too?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, I do."

Maryam nodded her head. "Good." She picked up the piece of paper she had been working on and shoved it in Eleanor's face. "I drew this. This is me and you in the park picking flowers. We're going to do that when you stay."

Eleanor held the picture out in front of her, tears forming in her eyes as she took in the scene and the bright colours Maryam used. Sure enough, Maryam had drawn herself and 'Elnor' holding hands, flowers and butterflies all around them; even the sun was a flower. Eleanor extended her arm and brought Maryam in for a hug. "I can't wait," she whispered in Maryam's ear.

As the night progressed, Ali wouldn't leave Eleanor's side, even when Rami's mom explained some of the recipes to her. He even demanded she help him change into his pajamas instead of his mom. She held him in her arms as the kids settled down to watch a movie before bedtime. Before long they were asleep, but Eleanor feared moving because she didn't want to wake up Ali. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rami peeking through the doorway, watching the scene before him. She smiled at him as their eyes met, before he decided to sit down gently next to her.

He put his arm around the back of her shoulders, nestling into her arm that was supporting most of Ali's body. He intertwined his fingers with hers as they sat together in silence. He looked down at her after a few minutes and kissed her. It had been a perfect day.


	31. Chapter 31

_October 14, 2015_

Rami's birthday gift had finally arrived. He was so excited he could barely contain himself. Just like a child, he could barely sleep the night before and could only think about what it would be like to be fifth row at the Habs home and season opener with his girlfriend, her nephew, and one of his best friends.

After breakfast he and Eleanor had driven out to the airport to pick up Fergal; he had gotten an early flight so he could spend most of the day with Rami and Eleanor in their hometown before they all headed back to Orlando on the same flight the next morning. He was lucky there wasn't an NXT taping this week, or else he would have been stuck in Orlando. When he saw Rami and Eleanor waiting for him at the airport, he laughed to himself – Rami was already wearing a Habs hat, and he already looked excited. This was gonna be a good day.

Fergal climbed in the backseat of the car as Eleanor took the driver's seat and Rami the passenger. As they drove through the streets of Montreal, they made small-talk about the flight and the happenings at the Performance Centre for the last few days.

"So uh, my parents are in Saint Tropez right now, they left after Thanksgiving, so you'll be staying with Rami and I at my parents' house," Eleanor informed Fergal, who nodded his head.

"Sounds good to me, Maple. You can put me wherever you want," Fergal said.

"We can show you around Montreal for the day until we go back to the house to freshen up…then we can pick up my nephew, go for dinner and then go to the game," Eleanor continued.

"Awesome sauce," Fergal gave a cheeky smile.

"Be prepared for tonight," Rami warned Fergal. "You think I'm bad with my Habs stuff in Orlando, or watching games on my laptop? You haven't seen anything yet."

XXXXXXXXXX

Fergal would be lying if he said he didn't want to move to Montreal after the tour Eleanor and Rami gave him. They took him to the most picturesque places and for a climb up Mount Royal, making him instantly fall in love with the city. They spoke at length about the great neighbourhoods, the atmosphere of the city, and the beauty of it even in the dead of winter. Maybe he'd try and convince them to adopt him so he could live with them here forever.

Before he knew it, it was time to get ready for the night ahead. He had showered and shaved at Eleanor's place before they had to go to her brother's house. Rami had a jersey for him to borrow in the backseat; he'd put it on after dinner.

As Eleanor opened the front door without knocking, they filed in and took off their shoes. "Everyone! Come say hi to our guest!" Eleanor yelled in French. Soon enough, Fergal heard the pitter-patter of feet running throughout the house.

Three children stood in front of him as Eleanor guided him further into the house. "This is my good friend Fergal Devitt. He works down in Florida with me and Rami," she informed them. "Fergal, this is my nephew Henri-Mathieu, but you can just call him Henri."

Henri extended his hand formally and shook Fergal's hand. "Hello Mr. Devitt, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too buddy. You can call me Fergal, okay? None of this Mr. Devitt business," he smiled.

Eleanor ushered her nieces closer to Fergal and he bent down to be at eye-level with them. "These are my nieces, Elodie and…and a blushing Rosaline," Eleanor giggled, seeing the look on Rosaline's face as she stared at Fergal. Seemed like _someone_ had a crush.

"Hi Elodie, hi Rosaline. It's nice to meet you," Fergal smiled.

"Where is your accent from?" Rosaline asked, her face still red and her eyes still wide.

"I'm from Ireland," he told her.

"Are you coming with us to the hockey game tonight?" Henri asked, rolling his eyes as his younger sister. He didn't want her embarrassing him in front of one of Rami's friends.

"Yup! Rami invited me to come with you boys and your auntie. Is that okay?"

"That's _awesome_!" Henri exclaimed. "Do you have a jersey?"

Fergal giggled – Eleanor had warned him that Henri wouldn't let him leave the house without something Habs-related on. "I think Rami said he'd let me borrow one of his jerseys." From behind him, Rami nodded his head enthusiastically and gave Henri a big thumbs up.

"Good. It would look weird if you had to wear one of mine. I think it'd be a bit small."

"I think so too," Fergal giggled.

Eleanor noticed Rosaline still looking at Fergal. She couldn't help but laugh. "Rosaline, is everything okay?"

Realizing all eyes were on her at this point, she took her eyes off Fergal, embarrassed. "Fine," she said, grabbing her sister's hand and pulling her down the hallway. "We're gonna go play," she said, almost absent-mindedly. As they turned down the hallway everyone saw Rosaline whisper something into Elodie's ear.

"They're scheming," Rami said, garnering a giggle from Fergal. "You're lucky you're not staying here or else they'd be on you like no tomorrow. They'd never leave you alone."

"Seriously? Is that what happened to you?" Fergal asked.

"They were intrigued by me, but not to the extent they just were," Rami explained. "Then again, I'm not as good looking as you are."

XXXXXXXXXX

"We _have_ to take a picture in front of the Guy Lafleur statue Tatie! _Please please please_ we _haaaave_ to!" Henri exclaimed amongst the crowd of eager Habs fans hanging around the Bell Centre. There was a great atmosphere amongst the fans, who were all excited for the hockey season to start. Everybody was having a good time starting chants about the Habs – Henri and Rami were in heaven. Eleanor loved seeing them so happy.

Fergal whipped his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Henri. "You can take a picture with my phone! Then I hope you can take a picture of me."

"You aren't allowed to leave Montreal without taking a picture in front of one of these statues!" Henri exclaimed, taking the phone from Fergal.

Eleanor couldn't help but giggle as she and Rami posed in front of the Guy Lafleur statue – this one in particular was Henri's favourite ever since he found out his mom's maiden name was Lafleur. He concocted a belief in his mind that they were related; they weren't, but it was nice to dream.

"Smile wiiiiide, Tatie!" Henri yelled as he held Fergal's iPhone in his hands. "You can make this your new phone background!"

Eleanor smiled extra wide as Henri snapped a couple of pictures. She made her Tim Horton's cup a prominent feature in the photograph, as did Rami who was showing off his poutine. Both had their Habs jerseys on, and Eleanor wore a knit Canada Olympic team touque while Rami wore a Habs knit hat.

"This picture literally couldn't be any more Canadian," Fergal called out, getting a laugh from Rami, who was trying to keep still for the picture. "As pure and sweet as maple syrup!"

When Henri finished taking the picture, he gave the phone back to Fergal. With a couple of swipes and the press of a button, he posted it online. _" wwebalor: Probably the most Canadian photo ever taken. #maplesyrupmafia #GoHabsGo_

XXXXXXXXXX

Rami was right – Fergal didn't think he could get any more crazy in Orlando, but that was tame compared to what he was seeing tonight. He swore he almost saw Rami cry during the opening ceremony. That the Habs were already leading 2-0 after the first period was just icing on the cake.

As some fans began to file out of the arena for intermission, Henri pulled on Eleanor's sleeve. "Tatie, can Rami and I go get some snacks please? We'll bring some back for everyone."

"Yes darling, but only if you promise to hold Rami's hand at all times, okay? There's a lot of people out there and I don't want you getting lost."

"Okay!" Henri exclaimed as he grabbed Rami's hand. "Uncle Rami let's go! We can't miss the start of the next period and there's always lines!"

"To the snacks!" Rami yelled enthusiastically, matching Henri's energy. Eleanor couldn't help but laugh as she watched him dramatically shoot up from his seat and lead Henri out the stairs and to the snack stands.

"So are you coming to the UK with us for the NXT tour?" Fergal asked hopefully once Rami and Henri were gone.

"You betcha," Eleanor smiled, garnering a fist pump from Fergal. "Rami might be good to go by then. He might even have some matches if he's lucky."

"The three amigos in the UK! This is gonna be _goooooood_ ," Fergal laughed. "They won't know what him 'em. You've been before?"

"Yeah. My uh, my family owns a lot of land and property over there."

"Really? Where?"

"Eh…" Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. Did she really want to name off everything? "We've got Ardwold House in the Scottish Highlands and a couple of townhouses in Edinburgh, plus Rosedale House in Oxfordshire, the house in Kensington, the land in London…" she gave Fergal a look, not wanting to go on.

"Well, I know where you and Rami are going for your honeymoon then," he commented.

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves."

It was Fergal's turn to give her a displeased look. "Your nephew is calling him uncle. That's a pretty big deal."

"Yeah…" Eleanor was suddenly nervous. "I'm sure Rami's told you I want to wait-"

"You're telling me that if Rami proposed during the third period you wouldn't say yes?"

"Of course I'd say yes," she looked down at the floor, suddenly becoming a bit emotional now that she and Fergal were discussing marriage.

"There's no reason to deny the inevitable, or eve _delay_ the inevitable," Fergal interrupted her. "If you guys want to get married, get married. You guys love each other more than any other couple I know, save for my parents. Never mind the personal rules you made for yourself, never mind what anybody may think it being 'too soon' or any of that."

"I've gotta figure out what I'm going to do with my life first," Eleanor tried to make a lame joke, as if it was an excuse for her wanting to wait. She had set up "dating rules" with herself long ago, and wasn't even so sure she could, or should, adhere to them anymore. She'd made them out of heartbreak, but she wasn't heartbroken anymore. She was more in love than she'd ever been.

"It's not about _what_ you do with your life, it's about _who_ you spend it with," Fergal said. Eleanor nodded her head in understanding, knowing what Fergal said was true. Sometimes, when Eleanor would sneak glances at Rami, or watched him while he slept and she was too stressed to sleep, she wished that she had met him earlier – that she had more time with him. Not only would it have saved her so much heartbreak, but also more than that: it would have given her more time with someone she truly loved, with someone who truly loved her.

Fergal could see how what he had said made an impact on Eleanor. He saw the gears shifting in her head, the dawning realization that she had the power to move forward in her life with Rami at whatever pace she wanted to, without the chirping of people's opinions all around her. He knew she was strong enough to do so, he just hoped she thought herself strong enough to do so as well. He put his hand on her shoulder. "And when you get to that point, of you and Rami, marriage…all I'm saying is, I better be the ring boy."

Eleanor couldn't help but burst out into laughter, even though a single tear had fallen. She slapped Fergal playfully for ruining a perfect and heartfelt moment between the two of them. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Seriously, marry that boy, or else you know I will. And he'd say yes if I asked. It's perfectly legal in Canada. And in Ireland now too!"

Before she could respond to Fergal, she noticed Henri's head pop out of the entrance, a pretzel in one hand, drink in another. Rami was carrying some drinks and pretzels as well. They climbed their way up to the seats and distributed the snacks. Before long, the second period was about to start and the Habs skated their way back on to the ice for a small warm up. Everyone around them stood on their seats and clapped.

Eleanor looked over at Rami, cheering loudly and chanting "Go Habs Go" along with Henri. She couldn't help but slip her hand into his, getting his attention. He looked down at her with a smile on his face as she gazed lovingly up at him. She didn't say a word for a while as they stood and stared each other. There were close to 20,000 people screaming and cheering but in that moment, it was just the two of them.

"I love you," she said a low voice. She knew she didn't have to yell over everybody to get her message across. "I love you so much."

Rami squeezed her hand tighter as he heard the words. She could say them to him every hour and it would still send shivers down his spine. "I love you too," Rami said, "more than you'll ever know."

Eleanor bit her lip as she stood on her tippy-toes to kiss him, while Rami wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her close.

Henri looked over to see his beloved Tatie and Uncle Rami kissing just as the second period was about to start. He liked seeing Tatie Eleanor happy, but she didn't have to _kiss_ Rami right in front of him _at a hockey game_. He even hated it when mommy and daddy did it. " _Eeewww_ ," he said to himself, making a disgusted face. He thought he hadn't said it too loud, but judging by Mr. Devitt's laughter right after, it was clear he had heard Henri's expression of disgust.


	32. Chapter 32

_November 5, 2015_

It was almost 3 am when Eleanor's phone rung loudly, interrupting her sleep. Very rarely did her phone ring at this hour – regardless of how busy the business could get, sleeping time was sleeping time, and wrestlers and management respected that time almost more than anything. She grumbled as she heard the ring, trying to ignore it as much ass possible. It was hard when it was ringing so loud, but it eventually stopped, thankfully. She had barely moved so she didn't think she would have woken Rami.

After five seconds of silence, it started ringing again.

She groaned loudly this time, and Rami shifted his position in bed, his sleepy eyes barely open. "You gon' get that?"

"No."

"Get th'phone."

"Noooooo."

"Elle."

"Ignore it. Go t'bed."

Ten seconds of silence. Eleanor thought it was over and done with, until the ringing began for a third time.

"Eleanor!" Rami managed to raise his voice from a mumble.

Eleanor groaned again, propping herself up on her arm and extending her other arm to get her phone on her night table. She didn't even bother looking at the screen properly; she knew the light would hurt her eyes. "Hello?"

"Sorry to call in the middle of the night, love," she heard a British accent say on the other end. In her state, it took her a few seconds to realize it was William Regal.

"S'ok. What's wrong?"

"Colby tore his MCL and ACL," he said. "The results just came in. He's out eight months and forfeiting the title."

Eleanor rubbed her forehead with her hand. "Fuck. Seriously?"

"We'll need you in a bit earlier tomorrow for conference calls and to help handle the situation. Can you come in for 8 instead of 9?"

"Yeah."

"I'll let you sleep, love. See you in a few hours. Sorry for the call again," Regal kept it short and sweet.

"S'ok, not your fault. See you later," she said, hanging up her phone. She set her alarm for one hour earlier and set her phone back on her night table before draping the covers over herself ready to snuggle into Rami.

"S'wrong?" Rami asked.

"Might wanna call Colby in the morning," Eleanor mumbled as she lay her head down on his chest.

"Why?"

"Torn ACL and MCL. Out eight months and forfeiting the title," she said quickly.

She could feel Rami stiffen slightly at the news. "Fucking hell…fuck, fuck," he began shaking his head. "We're all dropping like fucking flies. There's gonna be no-one left for Wrestlemania."

"Call him in the morning, see how he's doing," Eleanor said, rubbing his chest.

Eleanor tried to fall back asleep, but she couldn't help but feel the nervous energy coming from Rami. She could feel his stiffness, his uneasiness about the news he just heard. He and Colby had had their problems recently, but Colby was still one of Rami's best friends. Rami was going to be affected by the news of his best friend needing to have surgery and missing time.

Before long, Eleanor felt Rami slip out of bed and grab his phone from the night table. As she began to fall asleep, she heard Rami's voice from inside the washroom. "Colby, it's Rami. Eleanor just told me the news. Are you okay?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor's day had been full of conference calls and facepalms. Everybody was in a sort of crisis-mode with the WWE Champion having to drop the title without a proper match or send-off. Now, new creative plans had to be written for another superstar to win the championship. Even after virtually a full day of meetings, nothing had been set in stone.

As she walked into Rami's apartment, she saw him on his couch, his laptop on his lap as he talked to someone. He waved to her and motioned for her to come over. She put her purse down on the counter and took off her jacket before going over to Rami. She crouched down behind the couch to see Rami Skyping with Claudio.

"Hiiiii Eleanor!" Claudio waved at her enthusiastically.

"Hiiiii Claudio," she smiled, plopping down beside Rami. "How are you?"

"Eh, as good as I can be after hearing the news about Colby," he admitted, a frown appearing on his face.

Eleanor nodded her head in understanding. "Yeah, it sucks. Did he call you?"

"Eventually, yeah, but Rami texted me in the middle of the night about it," Claudio revealed. "I can't imagine what he's going through right now, having to drop the title and be out for Wrestlemania."

"I know, it's tough. I'm sure he's taking it really hard."

Beside her, Rami shook his head. "Everybody's getting fuckin' injured, man. It's awful," he lamented. "I'm gonna be backstage at Raw and nobody's going to be there…well, besides you."

Claudio looked down from the screen at Rami's comment, biting his lower lip. "Uh…about that…"

Rami quickly got the hint, his eyes bulging out in disbelief. "Oh no," he said, making Claudio shake his head. "Not you too," Rami said, hoping what Claudio was insinuating wasn't serious.

"I'm getting the same surgery you had. Torn rotator cuff, and I'm out for Wrestlemania," Claudio revealed.

"Fuuuuuuuuuck," Rami let out in a groan, shaking his head vehemently at the news. Eleanor could see how frustrated and angry he was getting at the news of two of his best friends out with injuries and unable to compete at Wrestlemania. Eleanor grabbed his hand and held it in hers, trying to calm him down. "Claudio, I'm so sorry," she said, meaning every single word. "This is awful. Absolutely awful."

"Thanks, Eleanor," he said solemnly. Rami was still shaking his head at the news. "Rami, it's okay. I'm in better shape than you are – I'll be fine," he tried to make a joke.

Rami huffed out a laugh before he stopped shaking his head. "I know you'll be alright. It's not that…I just can't believe this is all happening at the same time. This is nuts. When do you have surgery?" he asked.

"Around the end of November. It's happening with the same doctor you had up in Birmingham," Claudio revealed. "I'll have to stay up there for a few days after the surgery, until I'm cleared to drive back down to Florida again. Then it's the immobilizer for me, too."

Upon hearing the news, Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows. She hated to see Claudio so inconvenienced and alone, especially in a time of need. If his situation was going to be anything like Rami's, she knew how hard living with the immobilizer would be and how frustrated he'd get, especially if he was living alone and had nobody to help him. "Claudio, why don't you stay with us at the beginning?"

"What?" Claudio asked, shocked. She could see Rami look at her with a mix of admiration and disbelief.

"I'm serious, Claudio. If your situation is anything like Rami's, you're going to get frustrated not being able to use the arm. It's going to be tough," she began, rationalizing her offer. "You're not going to be able to do a lot of things. If you stay with us I can help you with things until it gets easier for you."

Claudio's mouth was gaping open at Eleanor's generosity. He couldn't believe she was being so selfless in his time of need. "Eleanor, I could never inconvenience you and Rami like that -" he began.

"You wouldn't inconvenience us at all!" Eleanor interrupted. "I'd feel much more comfortable and at peace knowing you're being taken care of and safe rather than cooped up in some room in Birmingham," she said.

"It would be good, man," Rami supported Eleanor's offer. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "She makes a mean fish taco. Plus my mom gave her some recipes to start cooking Arab food, you can help me be the taste tester," Rami smiled.

Claudio couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "I can't believe you guys. You'd seriously do this for me?" he asked.

"You betcha," Eleanor smiled, looking at Rami, then back at Claudio on the screen.

"So is it settled?" Rami asked.

Claudio shrugged his shoulders, chuckling to himself. He had some of the greatest friends in the world. "It's settled."

XXXXXXXXXX

Later that evening, Rami sat upright underneath the covers of his bed as Eleanor was washing her face and preparing for bed. He stared at her for a while as she did her nightly routine. He thought back to earlier in the day, how she had been so unselfish and caring towards Claudio. It was a shock initially to Rami to have her suggest such a thing, but really, he didn't know why he didn't think about it before her.

"Whatcha thinking about?" he suddenly heard her voice ask. He watched as she walked towards him in an old t-shirt and a pair of his boxers and couldn't help but eye her up and down. Even in pajamas, she was a dream.

"You," Rami gave her a smirk as she climbed into bed.

"Me? Why?"

"Because of today," Rami clarified, helping adjust the covers over Eleanor. He slid down the bed so he was lying down beside her, snuggling close to her. "What you offered to do for Claudio is amazing. I don't think I know anybody as generous as you."

Eleanor gave him a crooked smile. "I wasn't going to make him go through that alone," Eleanor said silently.

"I know. And that's why I love you," Rami said, giving her a small kiss on the tip of her nose. "You're the best person I know."

"Aww, shucks," she smiled, giving Rami a kiss. He slid his hand under her shirt and rubbed the small of her back as she did so, and quickly his hand moved from her back to underneath the waistband of the boxer shorts. He could feel Eleanor smile against his lips. "Rami…" she trailed off.

"Hey, now I'm feeling generous," he mumbled against her lips, garnering a giggle from her as he continued to kiss his way down Eleanor's body.


	33. Chapter 33

_November 20, 2015_

Rami couldn't help the giddy mood he had been in for the past two weeks. He had finally, _finally_ been cleared to begin training and in-ring work again and he felt like he was on cloud nine. Though it didn't feel the same as before the surgery, he was still feeling good about his progress and being able to make it back into the ring before year's end. He remembered the doctor's words – that he wouldn't be wrestling again for the rest of the year – and smiled to himself that he was able to achieve this; able to achieve what he wanted to achieve since the day of the surgery.

Eleanor had noticed his chipper mood since the day he was cleared and couldn't help but be in a happy mood herself, being able to see her boyfriend finally doing what he loved again. She had made an effort to sneak out of her office for five minutes here and there to watch him train and wrestle. Every time she did, she couldn't help but be nervous as she watched him take bumps and do some of his old moves. She would never tell him this, but every time he did a move that required strain on his shoulder, her heart would flutter or she'd temporarily stop breathing. Eleanor knew he was safe – probably one of the safest wrestlers employed by WWE – and that the trainers and other wrestlers would never over-exert him, but she couldn't help but be nervous. She knew how much he wanted this; she just hoped another injury wouldn't get in the way of his happiness.

While Eleanor, Nattie, Renee, Ben's girlfriend Natalie, and Matt's girlfriend Sarah were having their own girl's night at a fancy restaurant in Tampa, Rami, TJ, Claudio, Fergal, Ben, Matt, and Jon were having a well-deserved boy's night at TJ's house. Rami and Eleanor had talked earlier in the night; considering he didn't drink, he encouraged Eleanor to have more than a few glasses of wine with the ladies and have a good time – it was rare for her to get a night out and escape with some girlfriends, so Rami figured she should take advantage of it, and he would drive the hour and a bit back to Orlando. However, when Eleanor informed TJ of the plans, TJ was uncompromising. "You guys are _not_ driving all the way back to Orlando – just take a spare room and leave in the morning after breakfast." It reminded Eleanor a lot of what had happened at Phil's house in Chicago.

The boys had ordered more pizza, wings, and other junk food than Rami had ever seen – and they had devoured it all. He knew he was going to get heartburn from all the junk food, but it was well worth it. Rehab had consumed his life for so long, and now that he was back actually training and in the ring, it was good to let loose and be surrounded by friends instead of worrying about his shoulder.

Just days before, Claudio had announced his need for surgery to many moans and sighs from the other men. He was set to have it in only a couple of days now, and this would be his one last hurrah with the boys before the surgery. Despite the news looming over everybody's head, he wanted to keep the night as upbeat as possible. He sat with Jon on one of TJ's couches in his family room, drinking some beer, while the others were scattered around the room and the kitchen in their own conversations.

"I can't believe you gotta have surgery too, man," Jon said, shaking his head. "Are you worried at all?"

Claudio shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. The same guy who did Rami's surgery, up in Birmingham, is doing mine. Look how well he's getting on now," Claudio nodded his head towards Rami, who was talking about his training with Matt. "I guess I gotta look at the bright side…I'll be taking it easy here for a while."

"Are you gonna get yourself a hot nurse to take care of you?" Jon asked, wagging his eyebrows.

Claudio laughed out loud at the question, knowing that Jon would ask something along those lines. "No man, I'll be good."

"What about the first bit in the immobilizer? That's gonna be hard."

"I know," Claudio nodded his head. "Uhh…I'm actually moving in with Eleanor and Rami, and she's gonna take some time off to help me out so I don't have to spend money on a nurse or alone in Birmingham," Claudio revealed.

"She is?" Jon asked, shocked. Claudio nodded his head. "Wow. That's…that's really generous of her," Jon said, more so to himself than to Claudio.

"I know. I mean, Rami's gonna be around too obviously, but it was her idea."

"Wow," Jon didn't know what else to say. "She's seriously doing that?"

"She's _seriously_ doing that," Claudio smiled.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jon had been eyeing Eleanor ever since she walked in the room. He couldn't believe the news he'd heard from Claudio, but it was obvious it was happening. It was also weird for him to see Eleanor so…uninhibited. In a good mood. Happy. Clearly she'd had a lot of whatever the girls had been drinking, and he'd never seen her so giggly, smiling so much, cracking so many jokes. It was a side to her he'd never expected to see. In a way, he was pleasantly surprised.

Renee had booked them a hotel for the night, since they had to fly out of Tampa early in the morning to get to New York City. They had agreed to call a cab from TJ's house so they could both enjoy themselves, but Jon knew he had to talk to Eleanor before he left.

"I'm going to get another bottle of wine!" Eleanor announced, smiling widely at Nattie who was smiling just as widely back while holding Eleanor's hands. "Is the Okanagan one in the cellar?"

"Top shelf," Nattie nodded, letting go of Eleanor's hands. "I've been saving it for you!"

Jon knew the wine cellar was on the way to the washroom, so he pretended to go, instead waiting for Eleanor to remerge with this bottle of Okanagan wine, whatever that meant. As he waited patiently, he wondered to himself what he would even say to her about Claudio.

When she finally emerged, she was clutching the bottle between her hands. Before she could walk down the hallway back to the main area, Jon stopped her.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked, surprised at himself for the timidity in his voice.

Understandably, Eleanor looked confused. "Uhh…sure," she agreed, uncertain of what was going to happen. The last time they talked Jon decided to push her buttons. "What's up?"

"Uhhh, I uh…I heard through the grapevine about you donating your salary," he began. "And…Claudio just told me how you and Rami are gonna look after him after his surgery."

There was a moment of silence between them. Eleanor assumed Jon was swallowing his pride; she waited patiently for him to continue. "That's…very…generous of you," he chose his words wisely, despite the alcohol consumed.

She figured that's the best she'd ever get out of him. Truth be told, Eleanor was too tipsy for this. She couldn't process any emotions rationally right now. Initially when she saw him lurking she thought she was hallucinating, but apparently she wasn't. Here Jon Good was, in front of her, giving her as much of an apology as her could muster. Took him long enough to say something to her. She nodded her head once, acknowledging what he said. "Thank you."

Jon nodded his head too, looking down at the floor now. "I'll let you get back to your Okanagan wine now," he said, moving out of the way to let her pass.

Eleanor smiled briefly. "Thanks. I hope you and Renee have a safe flight to New York," she said before taking the opening and walking away.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _November 25, 2015_

Although Claudio was able to walk on his own two feet, Rami took the extra precaution of supporting him as he walked through Eleanor's apartment and to his bedroom Eleanor had set up for him, where he would be staying for the next couple of days. He was still high, per se, because of the pain medication, so he was in a really good mood, complimenting Rami and Eleanor on everything he saw in the apartment, down to the countertops in the kitchen and a framed picture on the night table.

When Rami and Eleanor finished laying Claudio down on the bed, Rami looked over at Eleanor, who was already tucking Claudio in, knowing when he took more pain medication he'd be knocked out again. Despite knowing the ins and outs of her, it always astounded Rami to see how in tune she was to other people's feeling and emotions.

Claudio caught him staring at her and thought it would be a good time to discuss her, even though she was right there. "Your girlfriend is a winner, Rambo," he commented as Eleanor fluffed some pillows.

"I know buddy."

"You're the luckiest guy on planet earth," Claudio continued, looking now at Eleanor. "I hope people tell him that every day, cause he needs to hear it."

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh at Claudio's comments. "Yes Claudio, one person every day is paid to tell Rami he's the luckiest guy on earth," she said sarcastically, although in Claudio's state, she wasn't sure if he'd get the sarcasm.

He looked back at Rami, his mind apparently on a different topic now. "Does she tuck you in like this at night too?" he asked.

Rami snorted. "She's not my _mother_ Claudio," he chastised him.

"Hehehehehe," Claudio laughed mischievously. "I bet you two don't get up to much tucking in when -"

"Claudio I'm _right here_!" Eleanor cut him off, slightly mortified at the sexual turn the conversation had taken in less than two seconds. " _Please_ don't talk about my sex life in front of me."

Claudio looked sullen for a moment. "Yeah, I guess that's kind of rude," he lamented. He looked at Rami and whispered loudly, "We'll talk about this later," winking emphatically at the end.

Rami shook his head, laughing at Claudio's antics. He wondered if he was this bad when he was on the pain medication. "I'm gonna go get his bags from the car," Rami said to Eleanor. "I'll be back soon."

"Thanks," she smiled at him. He left the room after Claudio demanded a handshake from him for 'being the mule'.

"Eleanor, your apartment is _so nice_ ," Claudio said, looking around at the spare room he was in. Eleanor had temporarily moved all of her paintings and supplies to her room so it didn't feel crammed. "Like, I have a house and it isn't even this nice."

"Thanks Claudio. Maybe next week, when you're feeling more like yourself, we'll have some people over to celebrate your successful surgery," she smiled.

"Like a _party_?" Claudio asked as if it was the best idea ever. "You would do that for me?"

"Of course I would!" Eleanor exclaimed. "TJ has already texted me about surgery went and is dying to see you. Colby and Matt have texted Rami about it too."

Claudio had a satisfied smile on his face. "I don't know how anybody can _not_ like you, Eleanor," he said, nestling his head into the pillow more enthusiastically than before. "You're gonna let _Colby_ come over to your apartment?"

Eleanor giggled. "It's for you, Claudio. Not for me."

"I know, but after all he's said to you? You're so nice. _Too nice_ if you ask me."

"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late," Eleanor quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson. It was something her dad did often, ever since she was a little girl.

"I don't know anything about that mumbo jumbo, but I _do_ know that if someone said that type of shit to _me_ , they wouldn't be coming over my house anytime soon," Claudio said.

Eleanor smiled, shaking her head slightly. "Well then, somebody better give me the Nobel Peace Prize, then," she quipped.

Claudio huffed, "You deal with _Paul_ twenty-four seven. The Nobel Peace Prize doesn't have _anything_ on you. You're in a league of your own."


	34. Chapter 34

_December 11, 2015_

"We're lost."

Rami looked at Eleanor, determined to prove her wrong. "I know exactly where I'm going," he said, looking down at the poor excuse for a tourist map they'd picked up outside a t-shirt shop. Truth be told, he had no idea where they were. He wasn't even quite sure if they were still in the West End.

"Ok, then where are we?" Eleanor asked.

"In the West End."

"Rami, just admit we're lost. Find a local Glaswegian and ask for directions," Eleanor said.

"We're not lost. I've been to Glasgow a bunch of times. We're not lost," he tried to remain confident, looking down at the map again. "Look! It's only a five minute walk to Kelvingrove Art Gallery from here."

"That's what you said half an hour ago!"

Rami had to conceal the laugh that came out of him at Eleanor's exasperated tone. He would never admit he got them lost. "Come on, let's walk this way," he said, making an abrupt turn right and heading up another street full of beautiful terraced buildings.

"I swear to God Rami if this doesn't lead us to the gallery I will make sure you have to carry me the rest of the way there," Eleanor bellowed, her feet hurting from all the walking they had already done that day.

"That won't be necessary," he said. As they walked to the end of the street, they both noticed a lot more traffic than normal, and buses going by – Rami knew they were about to approach a main street. Sure enough, once they stepped foot on to the main road, a large green sign reading "Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum" with an arrow pointing up the road could be seen. In the distance, the distinct architecture of the building the art gallery was housed in could be seen towering over the trees.

Rami threw his hands up in victory. "What'd I tell you?!" he demanded, a giant smile on his face. "We made it! We made it!" he yelled.

"Thank _God_ ," Eleanor huffed, taking a drink of water from her bottle. "I thought I was gonna have to sacrifice you to survive."

It was the second day of the NXT UK Tour, and everyone was in Glasgow. Rami had been cleared before they left and was scheduled to wrestle, mostly against Fergal, at the multitude of dates throughout the UK. It had been almost eight months since he had seen action in the ring and he was aching to take a bump or throw himself off the top rope. He thanked his lucky stars that he was able to defy what the doctor had originally told him – that he wouldn't be able to wrestle for the remainder of 2015. He knew he was cutting it close, with only three weeks to go in the year, but he still felt it was an accomplishment.

Since call time at the venue was 4pm, Rami had decided to set up a date with Eleanor in Glasgow. He had been before to wrestle shows and had explored the city on numerous occasions, so he felt confident showing her some great spots in the city. They had started early, at 8am, and had started in the city centre on Buchanan Street before walking all the way to the West End and to see the University of Glasgow campus – Eleanor loved all the old architecture. They picked up some lunch on the go, on their way to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, but had gotten lost along the way, and were now an hour behind what Rami wanted their schedule to be. It wasn't so bad at first, but one wrong turn led to another wrong turn, which led to ten wrong turns along the way, getting farther and farther away from the art gallery. Luckily Eleanor didn't have to call a taxi; luckily Rami didn't have to admit he got them lost – he could just say it was all a part of his plan.

Once they finally made it inside the museum, Eleanor plopped herself down on a bench, insisting she needed to take a rest from all the walking before she could tackle seeing the entire collection. Rami digressed and sat down next to her on the bench, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Whenever they went to museums and art galleries, Eleanor would always tell him about the art movements and the different styles of art – she had majored in art history, after all. Without her, the museum would be boring.

She snuggled into him as he sat down beside her. He adjusted himself slightly and she raised her head in hesitation. "Is your shoulder okay? Did I hurt it?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm alright," Rami smiled, knowing she would ask. The past few weeks she had been overly careful around him, making sure their cuddling or other activities weren't hurting him or aggravating his shoulder in any way. She would never admit it, but Rami knew she was nervous for his return to in-ring action.

"Just tell me if I'm hurting you and I'll stop," she said quickly.

"I would never want you to stop," he said truthfully. He placed a light kiss on the top of her head and kept his lips there. There was a moment of silence between them before he decided to ask the question. "Are you nervous for me to be in the ring tonight?"

Eleanor hesitated; Rami knew she was choosing her words carefully. "Yes," she admitted, pausing again. "I know Fergal is gonna keep you safe and everything, but I can't help but worry."

Rami kissed the top of her head again. "You need to stop being such a worrywart," he joked.

Eleanor smiled. "But you _never_ worry. That's the difference between you and I. I worry enough for the both of us."

Rami laughed, "You got that right," before taking a serious tone again. "I just don't want you getting stressed over it. I'm going to be okay."

Eleanor took a deep breath in. "I just remember how hard it was for you to come to terms with your shoulder injury, and how upset you were about not being able to train. I'll be damned if that happens again."

"It won't," Rami assured her, half assuring himself in saying it. "It won't."

XXXXXXXXXX

"You alright, love?" Eleanor heard William Regal ask. They were backstage in Glasgow, the second-last match of the night in full swing. "You've been biting your nail for the past half hour."

"I'm fine," Eleanor tried to dismiss his concern. She looked down at her stack of papers, pretending to busy herself, flipping through the various pages but not really reading them or taking any information in.

"Does it have anything to do with Rami being on next?" Regal asked, able to see right through her.

She side-eyed him jokingly, garnering a cheeky grin from him. "Maybe," she continued to bite on her nail.

"You've got nothing to worry about, love."

"Easy for you to say."

"He's going to have the time of his life in there with Fergal. You should be excited," Regal assured her.

"I know," she said. "I just…he had such a hard time with the injury. He was so upset about it and beat himself up over it. I had to watch him just sit around, itching to get in the ring, watching as his friends won titles and were on Raw. I never want that to happen to him again. I don't wa…he doesn't deserve it, you know?" she asked, a quiver in her voice. "He deserves everything in the world."

Regal approached her and pat her on her shoulder. "I understand darling. A boy like Rami _does_ deserve everything in the world. And you know in your heart, he's gonna get it. But he's gonna get it on his terms. That setback, the injury, it's only going to make him hungrier. You know as well as I do he wouldn't have it any other way."

Eleanor nodded her head at Regal's words, knowing they were true. Rami's music hit and the crowd went wild for him, followed by Fergal's music and an equally enthusiastic reaction. She stayed silent as she and Regal watched the small monitor. Soon enough the match against Fergal was underway. Her nerves weren't exactly calm, particularly when Fergal would work Rami's shoulder, but deep down, she knew Rami was okay, that he was in good hands with Fergal. Most importantly, as she watched Rami, Eleanor saw that, above all, he was having fun – he was right in his element. That's all she could have ever asked for.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _December 16, 2015_

"At least I didn't get us lost," Eleanor giggled as she and Rami made their way down Park Lane in London. Since call time as the SSE Hydro was at 4pm, just like in Glasgow, Eleanor had decided to take a page from Rami's book and take him out on a date before the show. He had been wrestling all throughout the tour and was on cloud nine – everybody around him could see how happy he was, more so than normal, so she wanted to capitalize on it. She knew London a lot better than she knew Glasgow, because she had been countless times before for charity galas, parties, fashion weeks, and the like (unlike Rami, who faked knowing Glasgow until he got lucky).

"I didn't get us lost in Glasgow, we had a nice leisurely stroll through the West End," he smiled down at her. "What's the name of this place again?" he asked.

"Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester Hotel," Eleanor reminded him.

"And this place is nice? Which is why you forced me to wear this suit for lunch?"

Eleanor nodded her head. "It's the best restaurant in London. It's got three Michelin stars. My parents come here all the time when they're in London."

"Is it expensive? I mean if your parents come here," he asked.

Eleanor huffed. "You could say that. Alain has the prices set around $300 a plate these days."

Rami gulped, hoping Eleanor wouldn't notice. "Oh. That's…nice…" his voice shook lightly, suddenly not confident at all.

Eleanor stopped dead in her tracks. For the days leading up to the date, she was so focused on remembering all the best places in London to go – places she knew from her family's globetrotting ways – so she could let Rami experience the London she knew and loved, she didn't take into consideration if he'd feel uncomfortable at the extravagance of it all. She was positive Rami had never paid $300 for a plate at lunch in a restaurant before. She suddenly felt horrible that she was subjecting him to a world she knew, but he had very little idea about.

"Rami, I'm so sorry," Eleanor said suddenly, squeezing his hand between hers. "I didn't even think…I didn't think about…"

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked her.

"I didn't even think about how uncomfortable you'd feel – _if_ you'd feel uncomfortable. I can _believe_ myse-"

"Eleanor, Eleanor, please," Rami said, grabbing her face lightly. "You don't need to apologize to me. Come on. This is gonna be fun for me! Something very different, but fun."

Eleanor didn't know what she could say to him to make the situation better. "I…this is the London I know, Rami. This is -"

"And that's what's going to make this fun for me. I don't know this London either. It's amazing that you're showing me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. One of the last times I was hear pre-WWE I slept on the floor of a flat in East London after wrestling a 25-minute match. This'll be a stark change, but an amazing change."

Every time Rami told her little tidbits like this, about his traveling-and-wrestling-on-the-cheap, she always wished she had known him then. She wished she had been able to be there with him, to help him. She knew he didn't need it at all, that he enjoyed travelling and experiencing the world that way and that he probably wouldn't have accepted her offers anyway, but she still wished she knew him. She had voiced her sentiments to him a couple of times. _'It was all part of the experience'_ he would tell her. _'I was young and fit. How weird would it have been to wrestle for a couple of hundred bucks and then go and stay in a seventy-million pound mansion in Kensington with 57 rooms?'_

"Eleanor," Rami began in a serious tone, snapping her out of her thoughts. "If I'm going to be with you, I'm going to need to experience all of this stuff eventually. I can't go through our entire future together and not do anything in regards to it."

"I wanted to protect you for a bit longer. You'd willingly expose yourself to that world for me?" she asked.

Rami brought her face to his and kissed her. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you, I'd do anything for you. I'm _in_ this _with_ you."


	35. Chapter 35

_Christmas chapter! Plus, a little surprise at the end for everybody!_

 _December 24, 2015_

Eleanor loved it when Ali snuggled into her lap like it was his favourite place in the world. Unlike Henri, who at eight years old didn't want to be hugged and smothered in kisses publicly, especially in front of his friends, Ali was still on the affectionate stage and wanted hugs, kisses, and anything else Eleanor would give him.

Eleanor and Rami were spending Christmas Eve at his eldest brother Hamed's house, with plans for Christmas Day with Eleanor's family. Though Rami's family didn't celebrate Christmas, Hamed and his wife Samantha still held a small celebration on Christmas Eve since Samantha had celebrated it all her life. Her family members had still gotten Maryam and Ali gifts, as did Rami's brothers.

After the late lunch/early dinner, the kids were giddy to open the presents, so Hamed and Samantha agreed and took out their cameras to snap some photos. So far, everything had been going to plan – Rami had stuck an envelope with a homemade card into the tree, and Maryam nor Ali had noticed it yet. As they opened present after present – books, toys, and new clothes – they got more and more excited as they tore the wrapping paper off. Maryam was very happy with her new teacup set, and Ali was over the moon with his colouring book gift from Anwar.

"That's it!" Maryam exclaimed as she looked at the bottom of the tree. "That's all the gifts."

"Are you sure?" Rami asked, his voice playful. "What's…what's that there in the tree?" he cocked his head from side to side, pointing to the envelope.

Ali gasped out loud and shot up from his seat on Eleanor's lap to grab it. He looked confused by it at first – why wasn't it a box like everything else? – but he knew how the mystery could be solved: just give it to Eleanor.

She smiled as she took the envelope from Ali. "Do you want me to read what it says?" she asked, Ali nodding his head.

"Is this from you and Oncle Rami?" Maryam asked. Rami had been moving himself so that he was right beside Eleanor, grabbing Maryam and settling her into his lap again.

"Yes, this is from me and Oncle Rami," Eleanor nodded her head, opening the card. "Ready to listen?" Both children nodded their head. Eleanor cleared her throat. "This magical park has six different lands, and all of them are oh so grand!" Eleanor began emphatically. Rami joined in, "We want to share its love with you, and have lots of fun and eat some too! We hope you continue to be a good boy and good girl, because on March Break, you're going to…DISNEY WORLD!" Eleanor and Rami exclaimed at the same time.

Maryam let out a blood-curdling scream. Ali looked at his parents in shock. Maryam had gotten up from Rami's lap and was running around the room. Rami had tumbled over on his side, covering his ears from Maryam's screams. "Disney World, baba?" Ali asked his dad, a giant smile on his face.

Hamed nodded his head at his son. "Yes baba, Rami and Eleanor are bringing you to Disney World on Maryam's March Break!"

"We're going to Disney World we're going to Disney World _we're going to Disney World!_ " Maryam screamed in a high-pitched voice as she stopped in front of Rami. "We're gonna see Elsa and Belle and Ariel who has red hair like you and me! And Jasmine! JASMINE!"

"We're gonna see _all_ the princesses!" Eleanor exclaimed. Maryam began screaming again as she jumped on Eleanor, completely disregarding her little brother. Eleanor fell back onto the pile of ripped up wrapping paper. Ali started screaming too.

"If you don't stop screaming you won't have a voice to talk to Elsa!" Samantha yelled, which immediately made them go quiet. "That's better."

"What do you say to Eleanor and Rami?" their dad asked.

"Thank you Tatie Eleanor and Oncle Rami! Thank you thank you _thank you_!" Maryam yelled enthusiastically, jumping on Eleanor again to hug her.

"You are very welcome," she smiled widely, hugging Maryam back.  
"Hey, what about me? Don't I get some love?" Rami asked, extending his arms out.

Both Maryam and Ali jumped from Eleanor to Rami, toppling him over once again by the force of their hugs. Eleanor couldn't help but laugh at the scene unfolding, all being captured on video by Samantha. All she wanted to do in that moment was hug to Maryam and Ali forever, make them this happy and excited all the time, and never let them go.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _December 25, 2015_

"Elodie be careful of Rami's shoulder!" Eleanor exclaimed as she saw Elodie sneak up on Rami, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. The last thing she needed was to explain to Paul that Rami had re-injured his shoulder because a six-year-old girl had jumped on him on Christmas morning.

Rosaline continued jumping on the bed as she watched her sister make her way towards Rami. Despite Eleanor's demand, Elodie jumped anyway, but at least Rami was prepared – on instinct, his arms moved to his back so he could grab Elodie as if he was going to give her a piggy-back ride. Elodie looked back at Eleanor. " _Tatie!_ It was supposed to be a _surprise_!" she exclaimed.

" _Elodie_ ," Eleanor used the same tone as Elodie did to her, "You need to be careful around Rami! Remember how he hurt his shoulder?"

"Tatie's crazy," Rami snickered. "Tell Tatie that Rami's _fiiiiine_ ," he winked at Eleanor.

Elodie giggled as she exclaimed, "Oncle Rami is _fiiiiiiine_!"

The girls had burst into Rami and Eleanor's room earlier, the heavy patter of their feet loud against the floor before their giggles overtook the airwaves. They expressed their excitement about Christmas morning before beginning to jump on the bed, screaming at the top of their lungs, "Wake up! Wake up! Everybody wake up!" in their sing-songy voices.

As if on cue, Henri appeared in the doorway, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, his hair still a mess. "You guys are _so loud!_ " he yelled at his sisters. "You can never just be _calm!_ "

"Henri, be nice," Eleanor scolded him. "It's Christmas."

Henri sighed as he finished rubbing his eyes. A smile took over his face. " _Joyeux Noel, Tatie Eleanor. Joyeux Noel, Oncle Rami,"_ he said, walking towards Eleanor with his arms stretched out for a hug. "I'm glad you're home with me."

Eleanor kissed the top of his head and ruffled his hair. "I'm glad I'm home with you too," she said, looking over at Rami and Elodie. She was horrified to see that Rosaline had climbed onto Rami's front, essentially creating a Desjardins sandwich with Rami in the middle. Before they could cause any more damage, she proposed an idea to get them all out of bed. "Hey, who wants to surprise mommy, daddy, grandma and grandpa with some hot chocolate downstairs?"

Hot chocolate was the twins' favourite drink. "Let's go downstairs!" Rosaline exclaimed. "Rami, take us there!"

Rami was all too happy to oblige. He rose to his feet easily, with the girls still hanging on to him, and began to walk towards the door and down the hallway. Henri had already run downstairs and was waiting in the kitchen, the packets probably already on the counter, the pot to boil the milk beside it. He knew his way around his grandparents' kitchen, that was for sure.

While the oldest son or daughter hosted Christmas Eve, Christmas Day was _always_ spent at the Desjardins house – it was a tradition that had been around for generations. No matter how many siblings there were, no matter how many kids were running around causing havoc, every member of the family convened back to the Desjardins house when Christmas rolled around, and this year was no exception. As Rami heated the milk on the stove, the girls sat on the counter watching him while she and Henri prepared all of the mugs. He was being so animated with them, pulling an apron out of a drawer for himself and pretending to be a Starbucks barista, causing the kids to burst into fits of giggles as he called out their "orders" and pronounced their names completely wrong. Eleanor had snapped a quick picture of Rami, Henri, Elodie, and Rosaline as he started to pour the hot milk into the cups. She didn't think twice before uploading it to Twitter with the caption "My barista 3 #maplesyrupmafia #nextcareer" It didn't take long for some of their friends to respond.

 _wwebalor: eleanordesjardins I hope there's adult supervision. Merry Christmas from the Devitts xx_

 _WWECesaro: eleanordesjardins This is just a disaster waiting to happen. Good luck. Make sure he doesn't poison the family._

 _WWERollins: eleanordesjardins the cutest 3 and I ain't talkin' bout the kids._

The tweet from Colby made her smile, despite all that they had been through. Soon enough, Jean-Philippe, Margot, Charles, and Catherine all made their way downstairs. Smiles and hugs were shared all around as everybody took a mug of hot chocolate and made their way into the family room so everybody could open presents.

Truth be told, Rami was surprised at the…normalness of the festivities. He had to admit he wondered what billionaires got each other for Christmas. He sometimes pictured it weirdly, like an episode of Oprah's Favourite Things ("You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!") or something even more ridiculous and over-the-top like My Super Sweet Sixteen. But it was none of that. It seemed exactly like what his sister-in-law Samantha described to him when she told him stories about how her family would celebrate Christmas. Family was the centre of everything for the Desjardins, he found out – Christmas wasn't Christmas without the family.

Jean-Philippe and Margot took turns filming as everybody opened their presents. Henri got some new books, clothes, and of course, Montreal Canadiens paraphernalia. The twins absolutely loved their new skates and the make-your-own bracelet set they would share. Rami gifted Eleanor a beautiful

Just like yesterday, everything went according to plan in terms of the kids finding the envelope last. Henri had grabbed it and opened it himself, eager to show off his reading skills to the family. "This magical park has six different lands, and all of them are oh so grand. We want to share its love with you, and have lots of fun and eat some too! Tatie Eleanor and Uncle Rami hope you continue to be a good boy and good girls, because on March Break…" he paused, smiling to himself. He looked over at his sisters and gave them a giant smile before yelling, "Oncle Rami and Tatie Eleanor are bringing us to Disney World!"

Rosaline and Elodie's jaws dropped in unison. They looked over to Rami. "Is this true?" Rosaline asked.

Rami nodded his head. "It's true! You're going to go with my niece Maryam and my nephew Ali and their mommy and daddy too. There's going to be a big group of us!"

Henri screamed as he lunged towards Rami, engulfing him in a hug. "Oncle Rami you're the best!" he screamed. Elodie and Rosaline soon followed, jumping on their brother. They repeated their brother's sentiment as Rami wrapped his arms around them, kissing their heads.

"What do you say to Oncle Rami and Tatie Eleanor?" Margot chimed in.

"Thank you!" they all said in unison, moving on to Eleanor with their hugs.

"This is gonna be the best trip ever!" Elodie exclaimed.

"Elodie, why don't you bring grandma's iPad over and we can start researching what you can see at Disney World!" Catherine exclaimed, a giant smile on her face from seeing her grandchildren so happy.

Elodie's eyes lit up again. She ran back into the kitchen where she knew the iPad dock was. Eleanor noticed Henri still holding the card and holding it against his chest, as if he let go, the trip to Disney World would vanish. Rosaline climbed into her grandma's lap as Elodie came running back in with the iPad. "Tatie, come sit beside me!" she patted the spot next to her. Eleanor happily obliged.

Across from them, Rami had began to help Margot with stuffing all the wrapping paper into a garbage bag. Before he could really begin to help, Jean-Philippe tapped his shoulder. "I need to show you something," he whispered. "Come with me."

Rami looked to Margot, scared that if he left, it would offend her because she'd be cleaning up herself. She smirked back at him. "You're gonna want to see what he has."

Jean-Philippe left the room in a hurry, Rami taking his time to leave the room so it didn't look suspicious, although Eleanor was preoccupied with her nieces and the iPad. Jean-Philippe guided him upstairs and into the bedroom he and Margot were sleeping in. He made sure to tell Rami to close the door behind him.

"What's going on?" Rami asked as Jean-Philippe began rummaging through his small suitcase.

"Well, I still can't believe that we managed to do this solely over email without Eleanor finding out, but man, let me tell you, you picked a stunning diamond based on shit quality pictures to match that band from your grandparents," Jean-Philippe said, finally retrieving what he was looking for. He handed Rami a small box, and immediately, Rami knew what it was.

His eyes bulged out of his head. He opened the box, gulping at the sight before him. There it was. One of his grandmother's thin rose gold bands, hosting a two-and-a-half carat cushion cut diamond. It was perfect in every way. He couldn't stop staring at it. He couldn't believe how much it sparkled just in the lighting of the bedroom, especially since he had picked it out from an emailed picture that Jean-Philippe had sent him. Clearly the wrestling gods were on his side when he was trying to create the best engagement ring for Eleanor.

"Holy fuck," he finally said, garnering a chuckle from Jean-Philippe. "I can't believe I'm holding this in my hands right now. I can't…I can't…holy fuck."

"Yeah, that's the reaction I had when I bought Margot's ring," Jean-Philippe laughed. "How are you feeling right now?"

Rami shook his head, unable to form words. "Indescribable," he finally managed to say, looking down at the ring again.

"She's gonna love it," Jean-Philippe said assuredly. "Have you given any thought as to when this is gonna go down?..."

Jean-Philippe kept speaking, but Rami couldn't hear him. He was lost in his own thoughts of the proposal, how he was going to do it, where he was going to do it, what Eleanor would do or say. Would she love the ring? He knew she would. Would she cry? Probably. Then all he could think about was the sight of this ring, this very ring he was holding in his hands, on the hand of Eleanor, and a tingling sensation shot up his spine.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _SO…I have a picture for you guys to visualize the ring. It's not EXACTLY what I pictured but it's the most accurate one I could find. Here is the link_ _uploads/products/2015/05/14/64/11921781/large/bella_6mm_petite_size_14kt_rose_gold_morganite_diamond_cushion_halo_plain_band_wedding_set_other_metals_and_stone_options_available_e12c29f0__

 _The plain rose gold band in the picture is what I envisioned (the diamond wedding band will come after). In this picture, the stone is round with a halo around it that makes it look like a cushion cut…Eleanor's has no halo – it's just a big ol' cushion cut rock! Eleanor's is also bigger in size at 2.5 carats, so it looks bigger on her finger. I hope this helps!_


	36. Chapter 36

_Guys…Alex Riley went and got himself fired, and I've written a scene with him in it getting into some trouble! And this whole Ryback situation…it's like I'm writing the future or something! :P Those chapters will be coming up in a bit…but some more things have to happen first :) Enjoy!_

 _December 31, 2015_

Eleanor loved having her birthday on New Year's Eve because she never had to plan anything. Of course, when she was younger, it was her mother that did the planning – picking a date between Christmas and New Year's Eve to host a party for Eleanor and all her school friends – but by the time she was at least fourteen, Eleanor's friends had taken it upon themselves to plan a stellar New Year's Eve/Birthday bash for her. Nobody ever forgot it, which was nice, and having it on New Year's Eve meant there was always an excuse for an amazing party.

Eleanor didn't know much about what Margot had planned for tonight – only that it was going to be at the Desjardins house – but she was excited nonetheless. She couldn't even get anything out of Rami, and he usually relented and told her everything. Margot had taken her to a beautiful brunch earlier in the day and then to a spa for some festive manicures and pedicures. Margot was conscious not to keep Eleanor away from Rami for too long – this was, of course, his first birthday with her – but Margot knew Rami had some important business to attend to, so she wanted to give him plenty of time.

This birthday was particularly special because Eleanor was turning 30. Her twenties were finally over and done with. She was now 30 – the same age Catherine was when she gave birth to Eleanor. The same age her grandmother, Louise Desjardins was when she had Charles – almost an old maid in those times, but Louise had always been a trailblazer. The same age her great-grandmother, Alexandrine, had her _fourth_ child. Despite all her female ancestors already having been married for years and having their children at her age, she was perfectly content with where she was in her life with Rami. Above all, there was intense amount of love between them; a love she had never felt for anyone else before. As long as she was with Rami in any capacity – as his girlfriend, common-law, married – she would be happy. Everything else was secondary.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rami had woken up with Eleanor in his arms, but it wasn't long before she had to leave him in bed to get ready for her brunch with and spa date with Margot. He knew about the happenings so he was fine with it, so long as he was able to spend the rest of the day with her. Besides, during that time, he had important… _business_ to do, and he needed to mentally prepare himself for his talk with Charles and Catherine.

He approached them in Charles' office, where he knew they would be, because Charles was chartering his private jet to take Rami and Eleanor to the Winter Classic hockey game in Boston between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. It was going to be a surprise gift, but Rami already knew about it because he had to give Charles his passport information. Charles smiled as Rami stood in the doorway, inviting him in. "I've just finished all the details for the jet. Have you ever been on one before?"

"No sir, but Eleanor tells me it's quite the experience," Rami smiled.

Catherine smiled, "You're in for quite a treat, Rami. Quite a treat."

"I bet I will be," Rami nodded his head. He paused before taking a deep breath, looking between Charles and Catherine quickly. "Mr and Mrs Desjardins -"

"Charles and Catherine, please Rami," Catherine held up her hand. "You've been with us long enough now. No need for the formalities."

"Charles, Catherine…I'd like to show you something…and…and talk to you about something," Rami stuttered out, going into his back pocket to grab the ring box.

"What is it, Rami?" Catherine asked.

Rami placed the box, still closed, on Charles' desk. "I'm planning to propose to Eleanor, and I would like to have both your blessing in asking her to be my wife."

"Oh, Rami!" Catherine exclaimed, bringing her hands up to her mouth.

Charles stayed silent, deciding instead to pick up the box and examine the ring. "Catherine, he's chosen the diamond from Louise's ring," he said, showing the box to Catherine. She took the box to examine the ring too. Charles looked back at Rami. "A wise choice, that stone. One of the prettier in our collection."

"Thank you sir."

"She's going to absolutely love this rose gold band," Catherine mentioned. "She _adores_ rose gold."

"That band is actually my grandmother's band. From Syria," Rami informed them. Catherine became emotional and placed her hand on Charles' shoulder, muttering _'How lovely, how sweet'_ as she continued to look at the ring. "I'm sure Jean-Philippe told you about me using the stone from your collection, and I fully intend to pay you for the val -"

"Rami, don't be ridiculous," Charles waved him off. "The stone is staying in the family. This ring is absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you, sir."

"Rami, sit, please," Charles motioned to the chair in front of him, watching as Rami sat down. "Don't be nervous Rami. There's nothing to be worried about."

"You have our full blessing, Rami," Catherine said. "We're very happy for you."

Rami let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Catherine."

Charles cleared his throat. "I can't think of anyone else better for my daughter," he said, smiling at Rami. "You're a good man. You'll treat her well."

"I promise I will, Charles."

"I have no doubt about that, Rami," Charles said. "And I'm sure Eleanor's told you…you know, Rami, there's a lot of tradition in this family. I hope you understand that."

"I do, sir."

"I know you're not Catholic but you'll be getting married at Notre Dame Basilica. Our family has been getting married there since it was built," Charles explained. Rami nodded his head. "The venue reception doesn't matter, that can be where you like, but Notre Dame Basilica will be the marriage takes place."

"I understand. I want to honour whatever traditions your family has," Rami said.

"Oh, Charles!" Catherine lightly slapped the shoulder of her husband. "Don't start with all this talk yet! He hasn't even proposed!" she scolded him, then looking at Rami. "You worry about your proposal, Rami. Charles is getting a bit too far ahead of himself here. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Rami chuckled as Charles shrugged his shoulders comedically. "Are you sure? I -"

" _Positive_ ," Catherine smiled. "You worry about the proposal, and how to hide that ring so Eleanor doesn't find it."

Rami nodded his head. "Alright then. Thank you Charles, thank you Catherine," he said, standing up to hug them.

"We'll have to meet your parents and family soon, Rami. We'll organize something once everything happens," Catherine said as she hugged him.

Charles gave him a strong hug. "Welcome to the family, Rami. I couldn't ask for a better son in law."

XXXXXXXXXX

When Eleanor returned home, she and Rami escaped to her room to have some down time. After some talking and more pestering from Eleanor to get Rami to spill on the details of the party, Eleanor informed Rami that she wanted to take a nap so she would be fully awake long after midnight, and not grumpy like she usually is.

"A nap? Are you serious right now?" Rami asked.

Eleanor giggled. "I'm 30 and already napping. I'm an old woman. You're in love with a senior citizen."

Rami shook his head playfully. "Between you napping and Ben accusing me of dressing like a grandpa, we don't stand a chance."

"You _do_ dress like a grandpa," Eleanor said, pushing her feet under the covers.

Rami looked taken aback for a second, rolling his eyes at her response dramatically. "Oh, well _thanks_."

"Anytime."

There was a moment of silence. "A sexy grandpa, at least?"

Eleanor burst out laughing. "I think that's an oxymoron."

"Don't knock grandpas. Pierce Brosnan is a grandpa, and he's sexy," Rami informed her.

Eleanor giggled as she draped her arm over Rami. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" she asked.

"Like you even need to ask," Rami said, cuddling into her, a content smile on her face.

It didn't take very long for Eleanor to fall asleep. For all the sleep she missed during the busy times of the year for WWE and NXT, she was definitely making up for it during this Christmas Break. After spending a decent amount of time catching up on social media on his phone, he decided to leave Eleanor alone in her room to spread out across the bed. He made his way to the second floor den, complete with a TV, and turned on the news. With the holidays happening and his recent return to the ring, he felt like he wasn't in tune with everything that was happening in the world like he was when he was injured. Granted, he had a hell of a lot more time to read the newspaper, websites, or Tweets, but he still felt he needed to be informed, despite his hectic schedule.

The usual stuff was being said on screen – some scandal in Quebec politics, news about the Montreal Canadiens, something Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that got him international praise – and then Rami heard an all-too familiar name.

" _It looks like the Desjardins family is at it again, donating a huge sum of money to charitable Montreal initiatives,"_ the woman's voice said out loud. _"Recently, we have learned that Eleanor Desjardins, daughter of Charles Desjardins, has made a $30 million dollar donation ahead of her 30_ _th_ _birthday being celebrated today. The lucky initiative? The recently established "Montrealers Supporting Syrians" organization, which helps newly settled refugees in the Montreal area. The donation is excellent news for the organization, which was created just months ago by volunteers in the Montreal area looking to help the refugees settle into their new life in Montreal. What makes the donation more interesting is…"_

Rami couldn't believe what he was hearing. Eleanor had made this donation to a cause so close to home for him, without telling him…for her birthday? He jumped off the couch and ran to her room, almost bursting through the door in his haste.

"El…Eleanor," he shook her gently, wanting to wake her but not startle her.

Her eyes opened slowly as she moaned at being woken up. When she saw it was Rami, her face brightened up a little bit. "Hey babe."

"Did you donate $30 million dollars to Montrealers Supporting Syrians?" he got right to the point.

Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows as she perched herself up on her elbow. "How did you find out?"

"I just heard it on the news."

She sighed, rubbing her forehead with her palm and sinking back down into the bed. "It was supposed to be a surprise for you," she said, touching his face with her hand.

He grabbed her hand with his own. "For _me_?"

"I put it in both of our names," she revealed.

"You _what?_ "

"The donation is technically from Eleanor Desjardins and Rami Sebai. Did they not mention that?" she asked.

"To be honest, I ran here in the middle of the report."

"I know how much this cause means to you so I wanted to include you. I hope you don't mind that I did that," she explained.

" _Mind_? Eleanor…I…I - " he couldn't form a coherent thought, knowing his name was attached to a 30 million dollar donation in Montreal.

"We've been doing it since we were born. My brother and I had to pick a charity every year that we wanted to donate our age in millions of dollars to. It's no big deal," she said.

"But you put in all the money."

Eleanor's face scrunched up slightly, as if what Rami said was absurd. "That doesn't matter. Your heart is in it just as much as mine is, probably even more. You deserve to get the recognition."

Rami was speechless. "Eleanor…I…" he didn't know what to say, a tear rolling down his cheek. He thought about all the families the donation would be helping and couldn't help but get emotional.

"Happy New Year," she smiled. "Wanna come back in with me?"

Rami didn't hesitate to crawl in. He lay face-to-face with her and pulled her flush against his body, giving her a passionate kiss, one full of love and gratitude. She felt his tears on her cheek and pulled away, wiping his tears with her thumbs. "I love you, Rami," she whispered against his lips.

"I love you more than anything. I _more_ than love you. I don't even have the words for it," he mumbled, his voice cracking.

XXXXXXXXXX

Margot was shaping up to be the next Catherine Desjardins in terms of throwing a great party. She had invited Eleanor's friends she still kept in touch with from high school, her university friends, close cousins, and even Rami's friends who were able to make it. An entire spread had been laid out for everyone to eat, and the TV was on showing the countdown. Her family had surprised her earlier in the night with their gift, which she was over the moon about – so much so she had already packed before all the guests arrived. Rami had surprised her with a gold dangling bar pendant necklace with the words 'to the moon and back' in Arabic hand stamped on it. She was already wearing it, and every time she played with it between her fingers, Rami got butterflies in his stomach.

When there was only about five minutes to go until the beginning of the New Year, Rami felt a pair of hands snake around his waist and squeeze him. Automatically knowing it was Eleanor, he wrapped his arm around her as she shimmied her way over so she was in front of him, her arms moving to wrap around his shoulders and his arms wrapped around her waist. She had been drinking most of the night and was in a _very_ joyful mood – Rami was lucky she was a happy drunk.

"How you doin'?" she asked, mimicking Enzo Amore's famous line.

Rami smiled at her and giggled. "I'm doing good, how _you_ doin'?" he asked, giving her a quick kiss. "Are you having fun?"

"So much fun," she smiled, kissing him again. "I can't believe Margot invited your friends! She thought of everything! Caitlin and Daniel are here! I caught up with her and she is just _so lovely_ ," Eleanor rambled. "And Marie-Julie and Patrice! They're doing a destination wedding in Mexico. Isn't that amazing?!"

"It is."

Eleanor looked at him with a smile on her face, as he looked at her with a smile on his. For a moment they were in their own little world, admiring one another. Rami admiring Eleanor's euphoric drunken state; Eleanor admiring Rami for putting up with her drunkenness. "I love you so much," she said. "You know that right?"

"I love you too."

"This isn't drunk Eleanor talking," she said. "I'm being serious."

"I know you are," Rami said, running his thumb along her jawline.

"I don't think I'm ever going to take this necklace off," Eleanor said, playing with the dangling bar again. "You think of everything. You're perfect."

"I'm far from perfect."

"But you _are_ ," she said, wanting to make a point. "You got me this nice necklace, and you love _me_ for _me_ and not because of my family and their money. I can get moody and irritated because of work and you still want to cuddle with me every night."

Rami smiled. "I know. It's because you make my life better just being in it."

"And you say things like _that_ ," she mused. "How can I ever compare?"

Rami gripped his arms tighter around her, bringing her closer to him. "I don't want you _ever_ comparing yourself, okay?" he said, hearing someone yell _'One more minute!'_ in the background. "Never, _ever_ compare yourself. This isn't a competition. I feel your love for me every day," he said.

Eleanor stood on her toes to kiss him. "I can't believe I get to call you mine," she said against his lips.

"The feeling's mutual, darling."

 _30!...29!...28!..._

Eleanor looked past Rami for a brief moment, seeing everybody start to convene near the TV to watch the final countdown. The last 30 seconds of 2015 ticked on the screen. Rami noticed her looking and looked over his shoulder at everyone. He grabbed her hand and led her to the crowd, where they stood amongst everybody, screaming the countdown numbers. At least four people had bottles of champagne ready to pop. At the ten-second mark, Eleanor felt Rami's arm snake across her waist.

 _7!...6!...5!..._

"Here's to another 100 years with you," Eleanor smiled.

 _4!...3!..._

"And another 100 after that," Rami smiled.

 _2!...1!..._

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" everybody yelled in unison. Couples bent down to share their New Year's kiss. Friends and relatives hugged each other. Pops were heard from the opening of the champagne bottles, and Eleanor and Rami were sprayed with champagne mid-kiss. Rami couldn't think of a better way to start the New Year.


	37. Chapter 37

_January 8, 2016_

Despite having a perfect Christmas Break with Rami, Eleanor couldn't knock the feeling in the pit of her stomach that had developed the second they had stepped foot back in Orlando. Now that Rami was back into having matches in NXT, she knew he would be back on 'the grind' of travelling, of training, of doing interviews and appearances and being 'Sami Zayn', not Rami, her Rami. In a way, she was spoiled when he was injured, because he was around all the time, and their relationship was able to grow stronger at a period where other relationships faltered or failed altogether.

She kept reminding herself of the talk she and Rami had back in August about him wanting her to be happy. It was always in the back of her mind – anytime work got really stressful and she felt like she couldn't handle it; anytime she and Rami had a romantic date night in and each moment was more perfect than the last – but she hadn't come to any conclusions. Truth be told, thinking about it made it worse. She was more confused about it than ever.

She didn't think many people at the Performance Centre noticed. Everybody was readying for the Royal Rumble and Eleanor being in a sour mood wasn't going to throw anyone off his or her game. Even with her being in almost constant contact with Paul, he didn't seem to notice either. He had flown in last night so he could spend the entire day going over storylines and the next big event on the horizon: NXT Takeover, which would take place in Dallas the Friday before Wrestlemania. Eleanor knew she would have her work cut out for her that weekend.

There was also the issue of Paul being in a really secretive mood lately. She wasn't really one to keep up with what dirt sheets were saying online, but the latest rumours made their way onto her phone and desk – that AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and other huge stars from Japan were now signed to WWE. Paul told her nothing about it, so she didn't know what to believe. If the rumours were true, and all the stars had really signed, that would make her decision a hell of a lot harder – who wouldn't want to be backstage witnessing a wrestling renaissance composed of what was arguably the most stacked roster of superstars in recent memory?

As she went about her day and finished delivering coffees to Matt Bloom and Sara Amato, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket and knew it was from Paul. She took out her phone to read his message. _'Meet me in my office please ASAP'._ She hurried back to the offices and didn't bother knocking, knowing he'd be waiting for her.

"Sit," he said, motioning to the chair. She went to sit down and noticed he had creative scripts in front of him. He put his arms down on the table and they covered any headings or writing she could see.

She waited for him to give her a command – "Go give these to Matt" or "Tell Regal I need such-and-such", but he just stared at her, as if he was waiting for her to say something too. "What do you need me to do?" she finally asked, unsure of why he was so quiet.

"You seem a bit down lately," Paul said, finally speaking. "And don't deny it, because even though I haven't been here, I've heard it in your voice for like a week now. What's the matter?"

Busted. Eleanor bit her lip, wondering if she should even tell him. He had much better, more important things to worry about right now, with the Royal Rumble approaching and everything else. She didn't want to cause him more stress or be more of a burden. "It's nothing, Paul. Don't worry about it."

"I'm not letting you leave this office until you tell me what's wrong," Paul said sternly. "I know I'm your boss but I also like to think of myself as a friend. You can tell me things, you know. I'm here for you as much as you are for me."

She knew it. There was no way she was getting out of this; Paul would have her in here for hours until he got everything out of her. "It's just that…with Rami cleared and working with NXT, it just got me thinking about what's going to happen when he starts to go on the road again," she confessed. "Back in May, we never really addressed it because things happened so quickly, with the injury and everything else, but now that things are serious between us – not that they weren't serious then, it's just _different_ now – it needed to be addressed," she rambled.

"And?"

"And…" Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. She thought again about the heart-to-heart she'd had with Rami when she confessed these same feelings to him, how he promised they would work through it, how she was worth it to him. "I guess I'm going to have to get used to it. Suck it up and make peace with seeing him two days a week, if that. That's the life I chose being his girlfriend."

Paul looked down at his hands, which were twiddling with a pen. He had a serious look on his face. "You act as if there is nothing I can do to help," he said finally, in a quiet voice.

"What do you mean?"

He looked at her. "Eleanor, I'm not so naïve as to think you'll be in this position, as my assistant, forever. I know you're going to move on to bigger and better things."

Eleanor stared at him, wide-eyed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I can easily make you a travel-based assistant. And if you don't want to keep that up, all I have to do is make a phone call and next thing you know, I'll be looking at the new social media co-ordinator, or charity co-ordinator, or what have you. You just tell me when," Paul said, smiling slightly at the end.

Eleanor was shocked; so shocked she felt like crying, like letting out all the emotion she had been keeping inside since coming back to Orlando. "You'd do that for me?" she asked.

Paul smiled warmly. "I don't like a lot of people around here, but I like you."

"Paul…" her voice cracked, her emotions getting the best of her. She stood up from her chair and walked around the table, her arms outstretched to hug him. He fully embraced the hug, patting her back. "Thank you. _Thank you_."

"You're a good girl Eleanor, and you're one of the smartest people here. With what you've done to help NXT…hell, I'd let you run it if you really wanted to, and you convinced me with one of your fancy PowerPoints," he joked, causing her to laugh. He held her an arms length away by the shoulders. "Is everything settled? Are we good?" he asked. "This wasn't exactly the longest talk but I hope I've made things a bit easier for you."

Eleanor nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah. You've just made my day," she smiled.

"Good, because now I need to talk to you about something…serious," he said, sitting back down in his seat. "And I'm gonna need straight talk from you. No bullshit. Hurt my feelings."

"That's all I ever do," Eleanor said, walking around the table to sit back down in her seat. "What's going on?"

"I'm going to tell you something…something private, and you have to _promise_ not to tell anybody. Not even Rami. This is concerning creative business, so I really mean it," Paul warned.

"I've never spilled before, I'm not going to start now."

Paul took a deep breath. "I'm winning the title at the Royal Rumble."

" _What?!"_

"We're setting up for me versus Roman at Wrestlemania," he revealed.

Eleanor's eyes bulged out of her head. "Paul, you've _got_ to be joking."

"You think it's a terrible idea."

"Well, I didn't say _that_ ," Eleanor defended herself. "But I just…wow."

"We need to draw. Vince wants to beat the WWE attendance record at Cowboy Stadium. He's set on it," Paul explained.

"I figured as much."

"It's not like I _want_ the belt on me. But Vince thinks it'll draw a bigger crowd. Fill the seats. Old guy versus new guy – the age old story."

Eleanor sat back in her seat, astonished by what Paul was telling her. "I can't believe they're putting the title on you. It feels like the early 2000s all over again," she said. "You know, when Vince announced that the Rumble would be for the title, I didn't expect _this_ ," she said honestly.

"What would you have done?" Paul asked.

Eleanor shook her head, not wanting to be pulled into creative matters. They had a team for that, and there was a reason she wasn't on it. "I didn't say I had a better idea. I just said I didn't expect this. I'm not in creative. I don't know what I would do. Is it set in stone?" she asked.

"Pretty much."

"Is it going to be you and Roman as the final two?"

"No. I'm entering at number thirty and eliminating him. We don't know who will be in there last with me," Paul said.

Before Eleanor could stop herself, the words, "It should be Dean Ambrose," escaped her.

" _Jon?_ " Paul asked, surprised at her suggestion. "Seriously?"

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders again. "Roman's best friend. Fan favourite. Make the crowd think he's got a legitimate chance," she rationalized. "If you're returning as a heel you'll need a babyface in there. If you want it to be climactic, have you three as the last three."

Paul mulled the words over. "That's not the worst idea I've heard pitched," he said.

Eleanor rolled her eyes playfully. "Thanks, boss."

"I like it when you speak wrestling. Babyface. Heel. I've converted you," he smiled.

"You've _corrupted_ me is what you did."

XXXXXXXXXX

Rami knew that since Paul was spending a full day at the Performance Centre that he'd be making his 'meeting' rounds with everybody. He knew it wouldn't be long – a five minute chat at most – but when Fergal was called before him, he knew something was up. Surely the NXT champion should be called last and get the longest conversation?

When he was called in, he saw Paul sitting at his desk. They exchanged formalities as Rami sat down in his chair. During a moment of silence, both men stared at each other. "Why'd you bring me in here last, Paul?" Rami asked.

Paul could tell Rami was nervous. He had no reason to be – there was no method to Paul's disorganized madness – but Paul wanted to end all the meetings on a good note, and meetings with Rami always did just that. He looked at Rami. "I want you to be one of the first people to know…" he paused dramatically. "We've signed Shinsuke Nakamura. He's coming to Dallas for Takeover."

Rami's eyes bulged out of his head. "Oh my God."

Paul paused again, twirling his pen between his fingers. "You're gonna be his first opponent."

Rami looked at Paul like he had two heads. "Me?"

Paul nodded his head. "Barring unforeseen circumstances, Dallas is your last NXT match. You'll be travelling with Raw full-time after Wrestlemania. I want to give you a proper send-off from NXT. Something you and the fans will never forget."

Rami took a deep breath in at the news. It would be his last match in NXT. His _last_ match. It was the end of an era for him. "So Nakamura, plus this hypothetical ladder match?" he asked. Paul nodded his head, and Rami couldn't help but smile. "I'm gonna have one hell of a weekend."

"You don't mind that in your last NXT match you'll be losing?" Paul asked.

"Pfft," Rami waved off the comment. "When have I ever cared, Paul? It's no title. Plus it's Nakamura. I'll be good."

Paul smiled to himself at Rami's good attitude. Rami thought about what type of reaction the match would get and smiled to himself. "The fans are gonna go _nuts_."

" _Dream match, bro! Dream match!_ " Paul lowered his voice comically, causing Rami to laugh. "We're going to announce it soon, so just sit tight."

Rami couldn't stop smiling. His Wrestlemania weekend was shaping up to be one of the best of his life. To think that last year, he expressed his worry to Eleanor about whether or not he'd ever get his own Wrestlemania moment like Colby – and here he was, almost a year later, about to participate in two highly anticipated matches on Wrestlemania weekend. He was living the dream. He truly was.


	38. Chapter 38

_Ugh…so I know Ryback TECHNICALLY sent out his "_ _My bad it was an accident "I'm dumb as f &€#" __tweet to CM Punk (when Punk announced he had to have back surgery) on February 10, but I didn't want to spend an entire chapter with extra filler on this one scene, so in my wonderful world of fiction I've made it happen a few days before the Royal Rumble so this scene could happen AT the Royal Rumble._

 _Also, this is how I've totally conceptualized how the Royal Rumble works backstage. I could be totally wrong, but whatever! It works, I guess!_

 _January 24, 2016, 3:00pm_

The Royal Rumble was Eleanor's favourite pay-per-view, even more than Wrestlemania. She loved the excitement of it all, how it was such a long-standing tradition in the WWE and determined so much in the grand scheme of things. She loved the fans' reaction to everything; every cheer, every boo, ever countdown. She had goosebumps during the entire event. Even though she knew the outcome tonight – and for the last few years – the magic was still there to her.

In the last few days, the plans that Paul had been so secretive about had finally come to light. The WWE _had_ signed AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, and Shinsuke Nakamura. Eleanor had met them about a week ago when they reported to the Performance Centre, where – at Paul's specific request – she had showed them around with Fergal. To say that Fergal was giddy that day was an understatement. His smile never left his face. He introduced Eleanor as "the best person who works around here," and she couldn't help but roll her eyes. Allen, Chad, and Drew seemed to like her well enough, despite Fergal's exaggeration.

Now, backstage at the Royal Rumble, she knew Allen would be debuting at number three. She had the master list in her hand and everybody was trying to get a sneak peek before the meeting. As she stood in the room with Paul, she saw equal levels of excitement on the superstar's faces.

"Alright everyone, let's get this party started, alright?" Paul announced, getting everyone's attention. Everyone immediately quieted down to hear the order of entrances. "We're speaking kayfabe here. We've got Roman first, then Rusev, then Styles," he announced. "We've got Breeze at four, Axel at five…Jericho, you're in at six," he sought out Chris in the crowd, giving him a thumbs up.

As Paul continued to announce names, and specific superstars who had to eliminate others, Eleanor spotted Rami in the crowd, listening intently to the order. She couldn't be prouder of him as he was appearing on his first WWE pay-per-view. "Kevin Owens, eighteen; Ambrose, nineteen; Sami Zayn, twenty – and you _make damn sure_ that _you_ eliminate Kevin Owens," he said with emphasis. Eleanor tried to hide her smile.

Paul eventually got to the later numbers, and of course, the most important part. "Final four will be Sheamus, Ambrose, Roman and myself. Roman, you eliminate Sheamus, and right after I throw you over the top rope," he announced. Joe nodded his head, accepting his fate. "Final two and me and Ambrose." Eleanor looked towards Jon and noticed his eyes go wide. "Everyone clear?" Paul asked, to which everyone nodded their head. "If you have any questions, concerns, anything – you approach Dogg, or you approach Eleanor," he pointed at her. She waved haphazardly so everyone could see who she was. "She's got a master list and knows exactly everything that's going down and is connected to the production room at all times. Don't approach me or Steph." Everyone continued to nod their head, as Eleanor saw Rami giving her a cheeky smile. "Let's get it done guys. Let's make it a good show!"

As everyone began talking amongst themselves – going over certain spots, asking how they were going to eliminate each other – Eleanor pretended to be busy as she saw Jon approach Paul. She hated to say it, but she totally wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"What sick son of a bitch picked me to be in there last with you?" Jon joked.

Paul shrugged his shoulders. "You should thank Eleanor for that. She was the one who brought up your name."

Jon couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I…she…what?"

"You heard me."

"I thought she didn't have any creative power," Jon said.

"She doesn't. We were just having a conversation one day over a business lunch and I thought it was a legitimate idea. Then when _I_ brought it up in a meeting, everyone agreed."

Jon was speechless. Eleanor took it as her opportunity to leave the room, pretending to take a call through her headset. She felt Jon's eyes on her as she walked out.

As she walked through the corridors backstage, she tried to find Stephanie to let her know that Paul had the meeting and that he was ready to prepare for the match. Once she did locate Stephanie and told her the news, Stephanie thanked and made her way to the locker room. As Eleanor began to walk towards gorilla, she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her into a corridor. She almost lost her balance but managed to regain it, finding herself being held by none other than Jon Good.

"Why would you do that?" Jon asked, still holding her arm.

"Do what?" she played the fool.

"Why would you suggest _my_ name to Paul to be the last person with him in the Rumble?"

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. "Because I could."

"But _why_?" Jon demanded.

"Because you're a hard worker, and you deserve _something_ if you're not going to be in the title picture. The fans love you. You get some of the biggest pops every night, and management may not see it, but everyone else does, including me," she said. "You think I don't watch, but I do."

Jon blinked a few times, registering the information. Eleanor noticed his hand was still gripping her arm. "Thank you, Eleanor," he finally said, in the most sincere voice she ever heard come out of him.

"You're welcome."

Before they could continue, Claudio appeared from where Eleanor had been pulled into the corridor. He looked at the situation before him – Jon's hand gripping Eleanor's arm, her look of general confusion. "Is everything okay?" he asked skeptically.

Jon looked back at Eleanor and smiled slightly. "Peachy keen, jelly bean," Jon said before releasing Eleanor's arm and walking away.

Eleanor had stayed silent the entire time, watching Jon leave. "Did he do anything?" Claudio asked.

"No."

"Did he _say_ anything?"

"No. He was just thanking me for suggesting his name to be in final two," Eleanor explained.

"With his hand getting a vice grip on your arm?"

"He had to pull me aside."

Claudio gave her a look – a look she knew all too well. "Are you lying to me?"

"I wouldn't lie to you, Claudio," she said.

Claudio gave her a more sympathetic look this time around. "I just want to make sure nobody is disrespecting you. He can be a bit…I mean after the whole 'princess' thing…" he trailed off.

"I'm good, Claudio," Eleanor waved it off. "We're fine."

XXXXXXXXXX

 _January 24, 2016, 7:30pm_

With the pre-show underway, Eleanor stayed in almost constant contact with the production team. She walked around backstage answering questions for talent and reminding certain ones of their call time and where they were on the card. She was busy but she knew she would be able to carve out time to see Rami before the Rumble started. She wanted to make sure he knew she was watching him, despite still having to do her job.

As she turned a corner, she saw Ryan – Ryback – stretching and preparing for the event. It didn't take long for him to notice her – he always did, it seemed – and she had to walk by him to get where she needed to go, so the confrontation was inevitable. She hadn't really spoken to him much after he'd hit on her last Wrestlemania – just the occasional hello or talk about segments – but a few days earlier, he had sent out a tweet that really made her mad. CM Punk had announced he needed back surgery and Ryback had tweeted at him, "My bad it was an accident, I'm dumb as fuck" to him with a kissy-faced emoji, referencing his podcast with Colt Cabana where he'd trashed the company. Although Eleanor didn't necessarily agree with everything Punk said or the way he went about it, there was no denying he had worked through several injuries, one of course being Ryback's fault. It was an unspoken truth that Punk was 100% right about Ryback breaking his rib, but nobody wanted to say anything out loud. And although she wasn't the closest with Punk – he was close with Rami more than anything – she couldn't deny he was a phenomenal athlete who was an amazing asset to the company when he was around. Rami had already called Phil on behalf of him and Eleanor and offered any help and wished him a speedy recovery, which Phil really appreciated. To disrespect Phil how Ryback disrespected him was awful in Eleanor's books.

"Oh, hi Eleanor," Ryan said, making it obvious in his tone he was in a giddy mood for the night. "How've you been?"

"I've been alright, thanks," she said politely. "And yourself?"

"I'm in the Royal Rumble, can't complain," he shrugged his shoulders. "You training to become a Diva yet or is that still wishful thinking on my part?" he asked.

He was at it again. Surely he knew by this point she was with Rami. The whole debacle of her family's net worth had made its way across the locker room; it was common knowledge she was with Rami, yet he still found it acceptable to hit on her. She shook her head at his comment. "Wishful thinking for you," she said, unimpressed. "I'm surprised though, since the only thing you seem to think about is yourself."

"How so?"

"A former superstar announces he has to have back surgery and you mock him on Twitter," she said, shrugging her shoulders sarcastically. "That's pretty self-centred, and immature if you ask me."

"Immature?" Ryan asked.

"The man if having _back surgery_ for Christ sake. It's not like it's gonna be a walk in the park."

Ryan shrugged his shoulders, making it obvious he didn't care about the situation Punk found himself in. "He says stuff about me, I say stuff about him. It's fair game. He wants to make up lies, I'll retaliate. He's a big boy."

Eleanor shook her head, surprised at his hostility. To her, Ryan was clearly in denial about the damage he had caused to other talent. She knew she would never want Rami to be in the ring with him for long. "To each their own. I just know that if someone I knew was having surgery, I would wish them well and not mock them."

"Yeah, and I bet you wished Rami well when he had his shoulder surgery, huh?" Ryan said bitterly, a small mischievous smirk on his face.

Eleanor could feel herself go cold. " _Excuse me?_ "

"That 'guy waiting back in Montreal' was him, wasn't it?" he asked, fully knowing the answer to the question. "That's why you rejected me."

"That was almost an entire _year_ ago," Eleanor blurted out. "You're not exactly making me regret my decision t-"

"Nah, nah I get it," Ryan said. Eleanor was trying to be as professional as possible, but he obviously had a bone to pick with her about the rejection. She couldn't believe that almost a year later, he still remembered and still had some sort of grudge. "I can see now why you said no."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Who wouldn't have wanted to get with the NXT champion?" he asked rhetorically.

Eleanor glared at him. "Are you insinuating that I'm only dating Rami because he was an NXT champion?"

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm saying Rami's with _you_ because even after all his brown-nosing, he lost the title after two months, and with you in Paul's ear all the time, it looks like he might just get it back."

Eleanor never, ever resorted to violence, but in that moment all she could think about was winding up her hand and slapping Ryan across his stupid face. She didn't think she had been so angry with another superstar in her life. Colby didn't even make her this mad, and that was saying something. "Who do you think you are?!" she demanded, in a voice that was much louder than she intended. She tried to stand face to face to him but the size difference wasn't to her advantage. She couldn't be intimidating physically, even if she tried. "Who in the right mind would say something like that to another employee?!" her voice was getting louder.

"Calm down, sweetcheeks," he said condescendingly.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" she practically yelled. She was never one to make a scene but this situation called for it. "I have been nothing but nice and professional with you this entire time and you want to act like this because I had a boyfriend when you hit on me at Wrestlemania?"

"Is there a problem over here?" Ryan and Eleanor suddenly heard a voice ask. Both looked to their right to see Claudio. He looked between the two skeptically.

"Everything's fine -" Ryan said, at the same time Eleanor emphatically said, " _No_!"

Claudio sent an accusing look at Ryan. Eleanor was glaring at him too for even _thinking_ the entire situation was 'peachy keen'. "Get over yourself," she bellowed.

"Do you care to explain what's going on? Or do you care to leave?" Claudio demanded of Ryan.

Ryan held up his hands in defeat. "It's cool, man. I'll be on my way," he said, beginning to walk away.

Eleanor and Claudio watched him as he walked down the hallway, eventually turning and moving out of their sight. Eleanor shook her head again, looking over at Claudio who was already looking at her. "You're always lurking," she said.

Claudio cracked a smile. "You're always getting into trouble. You should be glad I lurk."

"Does Rami pay you to follow me when he's not around?"

"No. This is all purely coincidental."

"I need to get back to work," Eleanor said, shaking her head at nothing in particular.

"What did he say to you?" Claudio asked.

"What everyone else says around here, probably," Eleanor huffed. "I'm only with Rami because he was NXT champion, and Rami's only with me because I'm in Paul's ear," she revealed. "It's fucking bullshit Claudio. Absolute bullshit."

"You don't have to tell me that," he said.

Her phone began buzzing in her pocket, and she knew immediately it was from Paul. "Claudio, I've gotta go, okay? I'll catch you later at the hotel. Rami says we're staying on the same floor."

XXXXXXXXXX

Kevin had just entered in to the Rumble to a huge applause – Eleanor guessed the fans weren't expecting it because he'd had a brutal match earlier in the night. Jon was lurking around, ready to go next, and Rami was mentally preparing. Everything was going well so far – no Superstar was scrambling to be found at the last minute, everybody generally remembered their order and when they should be near gorilla to prepare. Before Jon left, he acknowledged her with a nod of his head.

She could focus her attention on Rami for the quick time being. She knew she only had 90 seconds and that he was already in his 'zone', so to speak. When he got closer to her, she took her chance.

"Are you excited?" she asked, covering her headpiece's microphone so that no-one in production could hear her.

"Very," her replied curtly, jumping on his tippy toes.

"You're gonna be great. I'll be here when you get back," she said.

Rami nodded his head in acknowledgement. "It all seems like a dream," he said quietly. "Me in the Royal Rumble…you, here," he smiled. "It doesn't seem real."

"I can guarantee you it's real," Eleanor smiled. They heard the fans suddenly start counting down from ten, and Eleanor heard someone scream into her headset about Rami being there. "He's here," she quickly shot into her microphone.

"I love you," he said, kissing her quickly before disappearing behind the curtain and walking up the stairs.

When the buzzer sounded and his theme song blasted through the arena, the fans erupted in cheers and screams. The fans were on their feet as he made his way onto the stage, staring directly at Kevin, who the camera panned to at the perfect moment, a look of complete shock on his face. She got goosebumps as she watched Rami and Kevin start to beat on each other as he entered the ring.

"Look at 'em go!" she heard Roadd Dogg's voice exclaim from the production room. "Look at your boy go, Eleanor! Look at 'em go!"


	39. Chapter 39

_Sorry for the sad chapter everyone :( Don't even ask how I got the inspiration for this story by the way…I have a weird brain…_

 _February 8, 2016_

Eleanor had only cried twice about wrestling since working with the company. The first time was when the Undertaker's streak ended at Wrestlemania 30, which she still thinks was one of – if not _the_ absolute – _worst_ decisions the company ever made. The second was this morning, on February 8, 2016, when Bryan Danielson announced his retirement.

She had woken up without Rami in bed beside her. On certain days, it was a common occurrence, but on a Monday, when they were staying in a hotel since they would be at Raw – her, working; he, watching friends – he should have been in bed. There was no workout he needed to do, no gym he needed to go to, no friends he needed to meet up with. With him not beside her, she immediately knew something was wrong.

As she sat up in bed, she saw him on the couch in their room, slumped over. He had his phone in his hands, looking down at it. He was even still in his pajamas. "Rami?" she asked in a sleepy voice, getting his attention. When his head shot up, what she saw broke her heart. His eyes were bloodshot. His face was as red as his hair. There were tears flowing down his cheeks freely. "What's wrong?" she asked, immediately getting out of bed and running towards him.

"It's Bryan," he said, his voice cracking. "He's gotta retire. He's retiring tonight."

Eleanor looked at him, shocked. She brought her hands up to his face. "Oh my god, Rami. Did…did he call you?" she asked.

"We Facetimed," he said, allowing Eleanor to wipe the tears from his cheeks with her thumbs. "He can't wrestle anymore. He's…he's," he tried to get the words out, but they were too hard to say. He didn't want to imagine one of his best friends, somebody he'd travelled the world with, having to go through what he told him. "He's been having post-concussion seizures," he said. Eleanor brought her hand up to her mouth in shock. "He's been trying to fight them for the longest time, saying that he's okay…but then he went for another test and they found…they found his brain electrical activity has slowed down, and even a fucking lesion. And they told him he can't do this anymore."

Eleanor immediately brought her arms up and around Rami's shoulders, hugging him tightly against her where he cried into the crook of her neck. She didn't say anything for a long time. She let him cry – that's what Rami needed to do. She knew he'd be emotional and crying the entire day, especially if he saw Bryan later on. Bryan was beloved – surely they'd give him time on Raw to say a proper goodbye to the fans. She rubbed his back and played with the hair at the nape of his neck to calm him, making sure he knew she was there for him.

"Of all the fucking assholes in this business, this shit has to happen to _him_ ," Rami mumbled against Eleanor's shoulder, almost to himself. "And Brie…fuck, Brie!"

"I can't imagine what she's going through right now," Eleanor commented. "She's a very strong woman though, Rami. She'll be strong for Bryan."

Rami took his head off of her shoulder and looked Eleanor in the eye. "I want to let you know that I love you," he croaked out.

"Rami -"

"—Please," Rami interrupted her, his voice cracking again, speaking through his tears. "I need to…you need to know that, okay? I know I say it a lot, but you need to know. I know you worry a lot about me, and you have reason to, since things like this can happen at any given moment. But I want you to know that I'm gonna try my best not to make you worry, to not make you…us…go through what Bryan and Brie are going through right now. I could never live with myself if I had to put you in that situation."

Eleanor nodded, unable to form any words. She hugged Rami again and let him bury his head in the crook of her neck as tears fell down her face.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Eleanor and Rami finally made it to the arena, the first thing Rami wanted to do was find Bryan. They asked around and eventually found John Laurinaitis, who led them to the room Bryan and his family were in.

When Rami walked through the door, Bryan, who was sitting on the couch with Brie, saw him immediately. Bryan stopped talking to Brie and stood up, extending his arms to embrace him, a small _'Fuck'_ escaping his lips before they hugged each other. Eleanor followed closely and discreetly behind. She saw Bryan's eyes tear up at the two men hugged each other, patting each other on the back occasionally. She smiled meekly at Brie, who had gotten up from the couch to hug Eleanor.

"Don't make me cry, man," Bryan laughed, pulling away from Rami, who had a few tears rolling down his cheeks. "I've already cried enough today."

"Sorry man," Rami wiped the tears away quickly. "I just…I can't believe this is happening. Not to you."

"We all know we're going to have to stop eventually," Bryan mused.

"Not like this Bryan. Not like this."

Bryan didn't say anything. He knew the entire day was going to be tough for him and Brie. Everybody would be crying, saying how everything was unfair, how they couldn't believe this was happening. He knew that. But he didn't want to dwell on the sadness of his situation; he wanted to celebrate what he had accomplished. He wanted to laugh, share stories, be in a good mood until he had to face an arena full of fans who would be on edge about the announcement.

He looked over at Brie, just pulling away from her hug with Eleanor. Both women were looking at him, Eleanor turning and extending her arms towards him for a hug as well. He hugged her tightly as she whispered _'I'm so sorry'_ to him.

Bryan appreciated the sentiment, but he didn't want to sulk. "Let me tell you a story about your little friend Rami over here," he began in an upbeat voice, pulling away from Eleanor and giving Rami a smirk. "Has he ever told you about the Infamous Incident in Iowa?"

Eleanor's eyebrows rose in interest while Rami's eyebrows rose in fear. "Ooooh here we go," Rami muttered, covering his face with his hands.

"No, he hasn't. Please, do tell me Bryan."

Bryan smirked trying to remember all the details. "So Rami, Colby, Chris Hero and I are in Bumfuck Iowa – like, literally in the middle of fucking nowhere. We had just wrestled a show for a promotion in Des Moines, but we were due to be in Minneapolis the next day for another show, so we were driving in the middle of the night. Rami decides he's gonna drive the four hours it takes to get there," Bryan began. Rami kept shaking his head. "There's four wrestlers in this car who just wrestled their hearts out, so naturally we want some food for the ride. We need nourishment! Except the only thing that was open at the time we finally left was fucking Taco Bell. So we had to get a shitload of Taco Bell before we left. I'm talking like…a ridiculous amount of Taco Bell. Nobody, not even four wrestlers, have any business ordering that much Taco Bell."

"Oh God," Eleanor whispered, smiling at Bryan's playful tone.

"Oh my God Bryan, don't make this super disgusting," Brie chimed in.

Bryan waved her off. "So we ate this shitload of Taco Bell. We're about…what would you say, an hour in?" Bryan asked Rami, to which Rami nodded his head. "An hour into the drive, and Chris, Colby and I start to feel queasy. We're talking gastrointestinal issues, Eleanor," he emphasized for good measure.

"Got it," she giggled.

"Rami's fine! He's making fun of us, and we're all having a good laugh because we think we've got it under control…no," Bryan shook his head, trying to suppress his laughter. "The forces in the universe must have fucking come together that night, because Chris, Colby and I all went down at the same time. We're screaming at Rami to pull over because we all feel like we're gonna shit our pants, and Rami's screaming at us _'Don't fucking shit in my fucking car man! I'll fucking kill you all!'_ Rami _finally_ pulls over and the three of us bolt out of the car and start shitting on the side of the fucking highway on some dude's farm."

Eleanor burst out laughing. Brie was shaking her head, as was Rami. "Rami's screaming at us in the car _'What the fuck is wrong with you guys! What the fuck!'_ I'm too busy pooping so I'm just swearing at him; Colby is shrieking _'Holy fuuuuuck'_ over and over again, and Chris is just _silent_ with his pooping," Bryan explained. "But that's not even the best part. So Rami finally gets out of the car and is telling us how fucked up we are. We're just taking it cause we have more pertinent issues on our hands, like getting all of this Taco Bell poop out of our system, and all of the sudden Rami gets this look on his face like he's just seen a ghost. I'm like 'Rami, what's going on?' and he's like 'There's a stray cow and he's coming over here!' He proceeds to scream at the top of his lungs and flail his hands, trying to shoo away this cow from three wrestlers with Taco Bell diarrhea!"

Eleanor was laughing so hard she was crying. Bryan told the story so perfectly and with such exuberance that she didn't even care about the gross details. "Rami starts running towards this cow to shoo him away, because the screaming and flailing arms weren't working. I'm there, still shitting, thinking this fucking guy is gonna wrestle a cow. The cow finally starts moving, but as Rami is still running after it, he falls into a drainage ditch."

Eleanor's jaw dropped in shock. She looked over at Rami, his lips spread out in a tight line. Bryan had a shit-eating grin on his face. "Rami, my poor baby!" she said, taking a step towards him and cupping his face in her hands.

"Rami walks back towards us, and half his body is soaking wet, swearing, muttering to himself, all that. We're all still pooping. And let me tell you, Rami…he just walked straight back to the car, got buck naked to change into some dry clothes he had in his bag, and came right back to us to make sure no more cows tried to creep on us," Bryan said, his voice calmer. "When we all finally finished shitting, we were all still feeling like garbage, but we all got back in the car and started driving again. And Rami…" he said, patting Rami on the back. "This guy…he stopped _any_ damn time any of us needed to go again. No complaints, no nothing. He'd just pull over, we'd take our dump, get back in the car, and he'd keep driving. What should have taken us a little less than four hours took us _seven_. The damn _sun_ was coming up when we got into Minneapolis. But not one complaint from this guy."

Eleanor looked up at Rami lovingly, her hand on his chest. Bryan patted him on the back again. "That's when I knew this guy was one of the best people on Earth. And he told no-one about. He could have embarrassed us all in any locker room he wanted to, but he didn't. That speaks volumes, you know?"

Eleanor nodded her head. "It does."

Bryan suddenly looked like he was going to cry again. "It's _that_ type of stuff I want to remember. The good times. The crazy times. Not the injuries."

XXXXXXXXXX

When the time came, Eleanor congregated with all the other wrestlers near gorilla to watch Bryan's speech. She knew she would become emotional, but she didn't want to miss it. Sure, she hadn't exactly known him for a long time, but he had always been nice to her, especially last year at Wrestlemania, and he had done so much for the company that she couldn't _not_ watch him and pay her respects to him. Since she had been working, she'd barely seen Rami all night, but she found his familiar red hair in the crowd, standing beside Big E and Austin Watson as they watched attentively.

"… _the truth is I've been wrestling since I was eighteen years old. And within the first five months of my wrestling career, I'd already had three concussions. And, uh, for years after that, I would get a concussion here and there, or here or there, and it gets to the point that when you've been wrestling for sixteen years, that adds up to a lot of concussions. And it gets to a point where they tell you that you can't wrestle anymore…"_

Eleanor began to cry. She couldn't help the tears from flowing as the crowd chanted things at Bryan, and him getting so emotional about it. He was one of the few people on we WWE roster who had such a personal connection with the fans. It was heartbreaking to see him have to do this in front of 15,000 people who were begging him to stay.

Suddenly she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. When she looked to see who it was, she was genuinely shocked to see Colby's face staring back at her. "You alright?" he whispered.

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. No, she wasn't alright, not at the time being, but she knew she would be eventually. She wiped some tears away as she continued to listen to Bryan's speech.

" _But, a week and a half ago, I took a test that said that maybe my brain isn't as ok as I thought it was. And, I have a family to think about, and my wife and I want to start having kids soon…"_

Eleanor looked up at Colby again, who was concentrating on the screen, and realized that this must be as hard for him as it was for Rami. She didn't know if he had cried like Rami did that morning, but from the 'Infamous Incident in Iowa' story Bryan had told her earlier, it was clear that he and Bryan were close too. These men travelled the world together, all in pursuit of a dream – the dream they were currently living. And yet, they were watching a friend's dream come to an abrupt, tragic end.

"Are _you_ alright?" she asked sincerely, patting him on the back.

Colby shook his head, as if he didn't want to talk about it. "It's hard," he managed to get out. "This shouldn't be happening to Bryan."

That was the general sentiment, Eleanor thought, and she couldn't agree more. It wasn't fair that this was happening to Bryan.

" _Grateful. I am very grateful. I am grateful because wrestling doesn't owe me or anybody back there, it doesn't owe us anything. WWE doesn't owe us anything. Nobody owes… you guys don't owe us anything. We do this because we love to do this. And then, it was strange because I did this because I love to do this, and then all of a sudden you guys just got behind me in a way that I never thought was possible. In a way that fans shouldn't necessarily get behind a guy who is 5'8 and a 190 pounds. You guys got behind me in a way that made me feel that I was more than just me, and for that I'm grateful."_

As Eleanor stood amongst all the wrestlers, with Colby's arm around her shoulders, and her arm wrapped around his back, Eleanor thought that maybe, just maybe, she and Colby would be okay after all.


	40. Chapter 40

_February 14, 2016_

"Eleanor, I'm being serious."

"Mom, I _seriously_ don't want to talk about this right now. It's Valentine's Day."

" _Eleanor,_ " Catherine deadpanned into the phone. "You're a 30 year old woman. It's really time you start to take on some more of our charity work and not be so quiet about your donations. I started well before your age."

Eleanor sighed heavily. "Mom, you were – are – a Montmorency in Montreal. You weren't _doing_ anything else when you married daddy, and it was expected of your generation. I have a _job_ , a job that I really care about. I'm not going to come home just to host charity galas and dinner parties. Not yet," Eleanor argued.

"I wasn't _doing_ anything else?" Catherine asked, indignant.

"Mommy, you were born a socialite -"

"So were _you_. You think because you're over in Florida people over here forget about you? Well they don't," Catherine said.

"Don't you hear anything I say? I said _not yet!_ " Eleanor huffed. "You never listen! It's always about what _you_ want me to do for our family, our image, our fundraising. What about what _I_ want to do?"

"Enough's enough Eleanor. I know you're a shy and private girl but you have to start at some point. Margot's been doing this for years now, and she's raising three kids. There's no excuse for you."

"I'm not having this conversation with you right now," Eleanor said. "I'm less than a minute from Rami's place and I don't want to walk in angry. Goodbye," she said, hanging up on her mother. It wasn't the first time it had happened, and it definitely wouldn't be the last.

Eleanor sighed as she parked her car outside of Rami's apartment. She hated when her mom got like this – _'Eleanor, you should be doing this instead of being down in Florida'; 'Eleanor, why don't you go to so-and-so's charity gala for us!'_ when she very well knew that Eleanor wanted to ease into that lifestyle, even though she grew up around it – the lifestyle Catherine lived everyday as the wife of Charles Desjardins, the life Margot was living as the wife of Jean-Philippe Desjardins, the 'heir', the always-obedient and goody-goody son who followed daddy in the family business (as if he really had a choice, being the only son). She shook her head, trying to put all these thoughts in the back of her mind for the time being.

When she walked in to Rami's apartment, she was automatically intoxicated by the delicious smell. She could see him in the kitchen cooking up a storm. "My lady!" he yelled. "Come in! I'm making you an Arab feast of epic proportions!"

Eleanor knew she could count on Rami to put a smile on her face after the fight she just had with her mother. She shook off her shoes and walked through the apartment, nuzzling herself into his open arms as he continued to cook. "Whatcha making?" she asked.

"I made tabbouleh, it's in the fridge, plus my mom's mahshi is right here," he lifted the lid off a giant saucepan to reveal the just-ready mehshi, "and in the oven is traditional Syrian kibbeh," he said proudly.

"This smells delicious, Rami," she said. "Momma Sebai would be proud, cooking for your woman."

Rami continued to smile proudly. "I even set the table already!" he said enthusiastically, almost forgetting about it. He pointed emphatically to the small table, set up with the plates, cutlery, and even candles.

"You really went all out!"

"Anything for my lady," Rami said, kissing her quickly. "I even got a nice bottle of wine from Fergal for you."

"You did? Are you encouraging me to drink, Mr. Sebai?"

Rami smiled mischievously. "You always get extra flirty when you've had some red wine in your system," he said, leaning down to kiss her again.

"You Samsquantch!" she slapped his chest playfully, causing him not to be able to give her the kiss he wanted. "How dare you!"

"Come oooonnnn," Rami pleaded, trying to give her small kisses all around her face and neck but she kept whacking him away. "You're always so considerate when we go out, not drinking when I know you'd love a glass of wine, so I thought I'd bring the wine to you," he reasoned. He knew she was just being facetious with her behaviour, but he wanted to make it known.

" _You're_ so considerate," she said, grabbing his chin and finally kissing him. They stood in the kitchen, kissing for a while, before Eleanor pulled away. "This is exactly what I needed," she sighed.

"Why?"

Eleanor sighed again. In that small statement, she had already said too much. She looked over at all the delicious food Rami prepared and didn't want to spoil the night. She also knew that he wouldn't let it go now. "Let's plate all this food and eat, first. We'll take about it after dinner."

Rami nodded, conceding to Eleanor's request. She snapped a few pictures of Rami with all the food he cooked to show off to their friends in the future _("Rami's cooking you food? You better have the hospital on alert for severe food poisoning."_ ). He turned off the elements on the stove, putting the final touches on all the food before bringing it all to the table and plating it. While they ate their dinner, Eleanor couldn't help but keep raving about how good everything was. Rami was modest about it, as he was about many things, but she really meant it. She appreciated how he took the initiative to plan this romantic night for the both of them despite their hectic schedules. It was hard to believe that this was, technically, their first Valentine's Day together. Rami maintained that last year, he _would_ have asked Eleanor out on a proper date in and around Valentine's Day, but he was traveling and she was stuck in Orlando. When he vocalized this in front of Fergal, Fergal rolled his eyes. _"He'd been eyeing you for over a year and he still couldn't muster up the courage to ask you out one-on-one despite your little taco half-date,"_ Fergal joked to Eleanor later. _"I'm glad the rendezvouses you guys had happened under my watchful eye at the Performance Centre or else he'd still be working up the courage to ask you out for tacos again."_

As Rami cleaned up the dishes, splitting up the leftover food into Tupperware to eat at a later date, he noticed Eleanor moving the candles that were on the table to the coffee table. He chuckled to himself. "You want us to make-out by candlelight or something?"

Eleanor smirked. "What if I do? It's romantic."

"I know it is."

"Forget the dishes and come over here," she urged, finally setting the candles the way she wanted them. Rami did as he was told, putting the dishes back in the sink before making his way over to the couch. Eleanor ran towards him and jumped on him; he picked her up easily and held her in his arms as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "I love you so much," she whispered, running her thumbs along his lips.

"I love _you_ so much," he replied, walking over to the couch. He plopped himself down, Eleanor still practically wrapped around him, and kissed her quickly. "Do you want to tell me what was bothering you earlier?" he asked timidly.

Eleanor exhaled. She knew she'd have to tell him sooner or later. "I got into a fight with my mom," she revealed.

"Why?"

"She told me now that I'm thirty, I need to start…you know, doing what the Desjardins do. A lot more charity work, a lot more appearances on behalf of our family. She said I had no excuse not to."

"You have a _job_ ," Rami deadpanned.

Eleanor chuckled. "That's what I told her, but she wasn't hearing any of it. Told me I was born a socialite and just because I'm in Florida, that doesn't mean people there have forgotten about me. _Margot's been doing this for years now Eleanor, and she's raising three children_ ," Eleanor mimicked her mother's voice.

"That's awful," Rami said, knowing how Eleanor hated being compared to Margot. They were best friends and sister-in-laws, but they were a different breed. Eleanor was reserved, shyer, felt comfortable with people she knew and liked, whereas Margot could talk to anybody, even a plant, for hours. Margot loved the charity galas, the dinner parties, the public life that came with being a member of the Desjardin family, whereas Eleanor wasn't as comfortable with it. "You need to get into it at your own pace, Eleanor. I fully support that," Rami said, reassuring her. "I think your mom means well. She doesn't have the best way of verbalizing it to you, but she means well."

"I had to hang up on her," Eleanor said. "I couldn't take it. She doesn't listen to me when it comes to this sort of stuff because she's never known what it's like to be an introvert. I kept telling her, _not yet_ , but all she hears is _no_." She went to bite her nail but Rami's hand beat her to it, pushing it back down. "What do you think? And be honest with me. Don't sugarcoat it just because it's Valentine's Day and you think I won't have sex with you later because you said something wrong. I really…" she paused, trying to find the right words. "I _really_ value your opinion. I know it's my life and all, but you're a major part of my life, so tell me what you think."

Rami raised his eyebrows at the request, trying to collect his thoughts. "I think…" he began, pausing. "Eleanor, I think you have a beautiful opportunity to do so many good things for Montreal so publicly. I would be jumping at the opportunity to be able to do that."

"Really?"

"Of course! I think it's the most amazing thing that your family is known as philanthropists who give back to the community so much. Don't you want to share in that legacy?"

"Of course I do. _That_ stuff is fine. What I hate is the future of prissy dinner parties though. You don't know the people who I'll be surrounded by – I do."

"What's so bad about them?"

"I'm not like them, Rami. I can't sit around and gossip about how much money other people have, because I really don't care. I can't talk about my kids all day. I'm not trying to be mean or malicious, but I just can't be _that_ person," Eleanor shook her head.

"Well then…why don't you start something on your own?"

Eleanor paused. "You mean like a foundation?"

"Sure," Rami nodded his head. "That way you can raise money and it can be centralized under one name. Or, it can be private and just be from your family's money, but either way, you'll be helping people."

A shiver ran up Eleanor's spine. "And I could provide, like, English classes for the new refugees…or art lessons and other programs they don't have to pay for. Or like, other classes that will help them with settling…" Eleanor began naming off things she could do.

Rami could see the smile growing on her face. "See," he smiled.

Eleanor looked at Rami, smiling widely as thoughts of what was possible ran through her head at lightning speed. The simplest suggestion opened a world of possibilities. "You just might be the most brilliant man I've ever met," she said.

"I wouldn't say brilliant. More like the sidekick," he laughed.

"And you'll be there?" she asked, biting her lip nervously.

"Be there? Eleanor, if you decide to do this, I'll be there with a flag with your face on it! I'll be there waving it on top of every building in Montreal! I'd hire one of those planes that write messages in the sky! As if I _wouldn't_ – are you crazy? I'm gonna be your biggest supporter of this!" he said enthusiastically.

"You're too good to me," Eleanor mumbled, grabbing his face with her hands and kissing him passionately. She didn't wait long to slip her tongue in his mouth and work on the buttons of his shirt. He returned the favour, working eagerly on her shirt before moving down to kiss her neck and chest.

Eleanor giggled as his lips went lower and lower. "By the way, what's for dessert?" she asked.

"You."


	41. Chapter 41

_February 22, 2015_

"Shane?!"

To say that Eleanor was shocked to see Shane McMahon backstage at Raw was an understatement. She hadn't seen him in years – since she had worked with Stephanie – so she was genuinely surprised to see him walking around backstage. Paul had said nothing to her about him being there that night – she was going to have to yell at him for that.

He turned to hear the voice calling his name. "Hey, it's you!" he said, a giant smile appearing on his face. It suddenly turned to one of confusion. He pointed at her. "Don't tell me….let me remember…." he paused. She stood awkwardly with a cheeky grin on her face. "Elena!"

"Eleanor."

"So close!" he said as he shook her hand. "How have you been?" he asked. "You're with my brother-in-law now, right?"

"Sure am, in Orlando," she nodded her head. "What are you doing here?"

"You haven't heard?" he smirked. "I'm baaaack, and I'm back for control of Monday night Raw," he said, making his voice sound deeper, like he was talking into a microphone.

Eleanor felt her jaw drop to the floor. "You're _back_?!"

"Paul didn't tell you?"

"NO!" she said emphatically. "I'm gonna punch him next time I see him!"

Shane laughed. "I'm going to his office right now – you should join me," he raised his arm to guide her. As they began walking down the corridor together, Shane looked down at Eleanor. "How've you been?" he asked again.

"I've been good," Eleanor smiled at him.

"My sister says you're running the show down in Orlando."

"Your sister flatters way too easily," Eleanor dismissed the comment. "Paul's doing a great job. I just help his ideas come to fruition."

"You're too modest," Shane shook his head. "You're never going to thrive in creative being that modest."

"Who says I'm going to creative?" Eleanor deadpanned.

Shane looked around before speaking again, his voice much lower than before. "I'm not supposed to say anything, but Stephanie's gunning for you to becoming a writer. She wants to offer it to you but Paul wants _you_ to approach them first about moving positions – he said you two had some sort of talk," Shane said.

Eleanor couldn't believe what she was hearing. Stephanie wanted _her_ in creative? She'd never written any line of TV dialogue in her life and Stephanie wanted her to write segments on Monday Night Raw? No way. _No way Stephanie actually wanted her in creative._

"How's Zayn?" Shane asked suddenly, snapping Eleanor out of her thoughts.

"He's great. Steph told you about that too?"

Shane nodded his head. "It's a bit hard not to tell your brother one of your top stars is dating the secret billionaire," he said. "Especially when he's in the family Christmas card you sent to Paul."

"You two are the worst."

"HA! I've heard _that_ my whole life!" Shane laughed. "He seems to fit in nicely with your family."

"They love him," Eleanor smiled shyly. "My nephew keeps asking me the next time we'll be back in Montreal cause he wants to see Rami."

"That's all you can ask for," he said as they finally approached Paul's office. "After you," he gestured to Eleanor.

She knocked twice and didn't bother to wait for Paul to respond, opening the door immediately afterwards. Paul, as always, was going over the script for the night. "Why didn't you tell me Shane was coming back?!" she demanded playfully, pointing behind her to the man who was waltzing in dramatically. "I can't believe you!"

Paul's mood lightened. "It had to be a surprise. I'm sorry."

"I don't accept your apology," Eleanor shook her head. Shane patted her shoulder on his way to the chair in front of Paul's desk. Eleanor shifted the conversation to something work related – if Paul was reading over the script for the night, she knew something had to be run. "Is there anything you need me to do?" she asked.

"Yes, actually. Go find Dogg and ask him to hook you up with a headset and seat in the production room tonight," Paul said.

Eleanor's eyes widened. "Are…are you sure? In production?" She saw Shane smile slightly at the interaction.

"Positive. Meet me in production 15 minutes before show time. We're starting with him," he nodded his head towards Shane.

Eleanor nodded her head, knots forming in her stomach. "Uhhh…okay, yeah, cool. See you later," she said as she stepped out of his office. She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding in as she shut the door.

As she made her way backstage, she asked everyone she knew if they had seen Dogg, which eventually led her to him as he was lingering around production. He smiled at her as she told him what Paul told her – she needed a headset and a seat at the big table – and got her the headset in record time. There was still about half an hour before he so-called "call time", so she made it her mission to call Rami and tell him about it. He wasn't scheduled for Raw, so he was still in Orlando.

As she took out her phone to call him, she heard her name being called by a female voice. She spun around to see Stephanie walking towards her – hair, makeup, and dress already on for her opening segment. Eleanor waved awkwardly and put her phone away in her back pocket. After they exchanged pleasantries, Stephanie went right to the point. "I need your opinion on something…creatively," she said.

"Sure," Eleanor nodded her head. Stephanie had one of the most intense stares in the business. Eleanor knew she wasn't in trouble by any means but the look Stephanie had on her face made her nervous.

"I've gotten this script from creative, and I don't think it suits my _character_ all that well," she explained, handing over to Eleanor her copy of the script. Eleanor looked over it briefly, Stephanie giving her a moment to do so. "What do you think?"

"Why are they making you say all this 'destiny' stuff?" Eleanor asked. "This isn't right at all. It sounds like a Del Rio speech."

"I knew it! What should I do?"

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. "Be really fake. Feign shock that you've received the award, but go in with a folder that has a prepared speech."

Stephanie smiled. "Yeah…yeah that's good."

Eleanor couldn't help herself. Now the ideas were running a mile a minute in her head about how Stephanie could get some real heat from the audience before Shane came out. "You should totally fake cry. And say something like _'All these fans are so supportive of me winning this,'_ " Eleanor said in a fake voice, acting it out for Stephanie quickly. "Really bring the heat. And just as you're about to read the speech, Shane should interrupt you. It'll make his entrance that much more dramatic."

Stephanie had a giant grin on her face. "You're really good at this," she commented.

"I don't think so," Eleanor shook her head.

"No, you are! You really are!" Stephanie encouraged her. "I could have used you three scripts and one tree ago," she said, lamenting about use of paper. "Listen, for tonight, do you think you could -"

"I'm in production with Paul," Eleanor blurted out before Stephanie could say anything else.

"Production? With Paul?"

"I guess he wants me to watch or something," Eleanor explained, knowing that Stephanie would have wanted her to do something with creative that night. "That's why I have the headset. I don't know how long I'll be in there for, though."

Stephanie nodded her head, and Eleanor could tell the gears were shifting in her head. "Production with Paul," she repeated to herself. "Alright, cool. I'll text him the changes to this, so don't worry. You get ready for that, cause you're in for a wild ride."

Eleanor watched as Stephanie walked away and pulled her phone out, probably texting or calling Paul about the changes. Eleanor couldn't believe all this was happening right now. She suddenly felt like she was just _given_ power in production and creative – she'd essentially just re-written a script for Stephanie, and God knows what Paul was going to ask her to do in production.

Once Eleanor knew Stephanie was truly gone and wouldn't creep up on her again, she took her phone out of her pocket and found a quiet and empty corridor, dialing Rami's number quickly, hoping he'd pick up. Usually if she was gone for Raw, he and Fergal would get together and watch it, so God knows what they were up to. She was thoroughly surprised that he answered on the third ring.

"Hey babe."

"Hey," she said, her voice unwillingly coming out a bit shaky. "Um, how's everything?"

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately, sensing the trembling of her voice.

"Well, Paul's asked me to be in production with him tonight. I'm really nervous," she said.

"Like you were at Summerslam?"

"Yeah. I don't know if he actually wants me to do anything but I mean…he wants me in there. I don't know what to do."

"He probably wants you to learn the ins and outs of production," Rami said casually, as if it was the most normal thing on earth.

"Okay, but Rami…I'm his assistant. Why would he want _me_ to learn production? And then there's…"

"There's what?"

"Um, so, don't say anything, but Shane McMahon is back," she said first.

"Holy shit."

"That's not the issue though…so, I was talking to him, and he was telling me how, apparently, Stephanie is gunning to get me a position in creative. _Creative_ , Rami," she stressed. "What the fuck? What the fuck?!"

"Eleanor, calm down," Rami tried to console her through the phone. "It's okay. They obviously believe in you if they're trying to get you to do these things. That's not a bad thing."

"I _know_ it's not a bad thing, Rami, I just…" she tried to find the right words. "I don't even know if I'm gonna be here for much longer, after everything we've talked about on Valentine's Day. I can't get the idea out of my head. I hate how I'm being pulled in every direction when I don't even know what I'm going to _do_."

"It's okay, darling," Rami said. "Don't get stressed out about this. Paul is probably just going to have you watch, nothing major. If you don't want to go in to production anymore, just tell him. I'm sure he'll understand. He's listened to you before when you told him not to book you for more podcasts or Total Divas shit. He'll listen now too."

Eleanor took a deep breath as she listened to Rami speak. He was so calm, so collected with his thoughts and advice. She wished she could be that calm in the face of all this. "Thank you," she said.

"This is what I'm here for," Rami said nonchalantly. "Just do your best and you'll do great. That's all there is to it. And don't forget that I love you."

Eleanor smiled to herself. "I love you too."

"Do you still need to talk?" he asked.

"No, I'm okay," she said. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"I'll be looking forward to it."

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, are you gonna call this or what?"

Eleanor looked at Paul like he had five heads. "Um, _NO_ ," she deadpanned. "That's _your_ job."

"Come on, it'll be fun," he smiled. "You'll do great!"  
Before she could protest any more, Paul began giving her a crash course in camera angles and words to say if she wanted them to switch; he showed her which camera was connected to which monitor and which cameraman; he told Michael Hayes, who usually called the opening segment, to let Eleanor have this one, and Hayes complied because he had no other choice – really, who'd say no to Paul even if he proposed an asinine idea like _'Let my assistant call one of the most important opening segments in recent memory to lead up to Wrestlemania even though she has no TV experience.'_ She felt like her stomach was in her throat the entire time leading up to the Raw signature. The fact that Paul had a grin on his face the entire time, despite knowing this could all go tits up in a matter of seconds, made her even more nervous. She loved that he had this type of faith in her, but this really wasn't her cup of tea. She didn't want to be in production. She didn't want to be in creative. Eleanor felt horrible that Paul was clearly grooming her for a position in production, yet the idea of starting a foundation was, since Valentine's Day, ever present in her mind, just like she had told Rami. Like always, she didn't have the power to say no to him.

Despite her fear, Eleanor began calling camera angles. She led the countdown to Stephanie McMahon's theme song to start playing. When Stephanie began saying her lines, the lines Eleanor fed to her a mere half an hour ago, she felt a tingling sensation in her spine. And when Stephanie said those telling words, "If I may…" and began to open her 'prepared speech', she knew that was her cue.

"Alright boys," she said commandingly. "In five…four…three…two…one…"

 _Here comes the moneeeeeyyyyy!_

 _Pan out to the titantron! Keep Steph in frame! Zoom in on Vince! Both! Back to Steph! Now to Shane! TO SHANE!_

Paul looked on as Eleanor called the camera angles, getting everything absolutely right. He looked over to Dogg, who was trying to hide his grin, and to Michael Hayes, sitting behind Eleanor, who had a look of pure amusement on his face – one that read, _'Holy shit, she did it'_ written all over it.

In that moment, he knew he'd found his new producer. He could only hope that she'd accept.


	42. Chapter 42

_I think this is the chapter you've all been waiting for…!_

 _March 3, 2016_

"If I was really mean, I could scream out the window right now that you're abducting me," Eleanor said as she kept feeling the blindfold around her eyes.

Rami gasped. "You would do _no_ such thing!" he said, turning into the parking lot where he needed to be. "Anyway, we're here," he announced.

"Can I take this off now?" she asked.

"Nope," he smiled even though she couldn't see him. "I'm the only one who can take it off. And we need to go inside first before I can do that."

Eleanor loved surprises, but even this one was making her skeptical. It was long and drawn out, plus Rami had to drive her somewhere completely blindfolded. She trusted him completely, but she really wondered what he had up his sleeve.

As he led her out of the car, through the parking garage and into an elevator, Eleanor tried to get a feel for her surroundings, but she was coming up short. The computerized voice in the elevator gave nothing away as to their whereabouts. Rami continued to guide her once they arrived at the correct floor. Eleanor began to hear the low hum of thousands of people and knew she was in a public place. She could only imagine what people around them were thinking as they watched.

"You nervous?" Rami asked.

"More excited, really. You're good at surprises," she admitted. "Can we take this damn thing off now?"

Rami giggled. "Yes, we can," he said, moving behind her to untie the blindfold. As it slipped off, Eleanor looked around her and came to the conclusion she was at the Orlando airport.

She looked to Rami, confused. "What are we doing at the airport?"

Rami shrugged his shoulders. "You know what day it is today?" he asked, knowing she would know the answer.

"Of course. It's our anniversary."

He smiled shyly. "So why are we spending our anniversary in Orlando when Montreal is just a three hour flight away?"

Eleanor's eyes immediately brightened as he mentioned their hometown. "Are you taking me to Montreal for our anniversary?" she asked. Rami nodded. She squealed in delight, jumping on him to hug and kiss him. "I can't believe you did all this without me finding out!"

"Believe me, I know, because you figure out _everything_!"

To Rami's credit, everything _was_ incredibly well planned behind her back. He had gotten a little help along the way, particularly from Jean-Philippe who had arranged the construction of a surprise later in the day, but for the most part everything was Rami's doing. He had stolen her passport to get the information for the tickets and put it away perfectly without her noticing it had been moved; he had arranged an overnight bag filled with the essentials and his favourite dress of her's to wear; he'd made sure they had a fun day planned, complete with visiting all of her favourite spots in Montreal before retiring to a suite at the Ritz Carlton; he'd even contacted her favourite restaurant and requested a table for dinner.

Rami could tell Eleanor was beyond excited. She had been giddy the entire plane ride over and could not sit still. When they landed, she skipped and hopped her way through the airport as she held his hand. The first thing on Rami's agenda for the day was lunch at their favourite Montreal smoked meat restaurant. She couldn't sit still during their cab ride there. He was keeping all the plans a secret from her and she desperately wanted to know what they were going to do.

"You brought me to lunch at Schwartz?" she asked as they both got out of the cab. "Do you want me to gain ten pounds?"

Rami shrugged his shoulders. "More to love," he said, bringing her in and kissing her cheek. "Come on, we better get a table before the lines start."

To say Eleanor was in her happy place was an understatement. She hadn't had Schwartz's in _months_ and it felt so good to have their delicious food in her mouth. She and Rami had each ordered the smoked meat sandwich and shared a plate of fries; Eleanor could barely move once she was done with the sandwich.

She sat back in her seat, patting her belly. "God damn that was good. Would I be inappropriate if I unbuttoned my pants right now?" she asked.

"That's exactly what I want to hear from my hot date after she eats an entire smoked meat sandwich," Rami said, causing Eleanor to laugh. "Seriously. Nothing hotter. Although I'm pretty sure that family over there won't appreciate your indecent exposure."

Eleanor looked behind her to see a family with two young children enjoying a meal. She turned back to Rami. "That may be, but that dad is gonna do the exact same thing. I may as well start the trend."

"The only one that's gonna unzip those pants is me," Rami said, smirking at the end.

Eleanor feigned shock. "Rami Sebai, are you talking dirty to me in the middle of Schwartz's Deli?"

"Maybe."

"Keep that up and you just might unzip these pants," she wiggled her eyebrows.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rami was getting more and more nervous by the minute. He and Eleanor had had the perfect day together; after lunch, they had gone for a scenic bike ride around Montreal, and had made a pit-stop at their suite at the Ritz Carleton to get ready for dinner. They had just finished having a romantic dinner at Eleanor's favourite restaurant, and Rami was trying to hail a taxi to take them to Mont Royal for his next big surprise. For the longest time, no taxis were stopping to pick them up.

"Are we going back to the hotel?" Eleanor asked as Rami continually tried to get a taxi.

"Nope. Not yet."

"Another surprise?" Eleanor asked. Rami nodded his head. "But what if I want to ravage you in bed?" she asked.

Rami whipped his head to look at her, sighing at the smirk on her face. "As much as it pains me to say this, that's gonna have to wait," he said, his voice full of regret.

"Seriously?" she asked as a taxi finally pulled up beside them. Rami ushered her in before telling the driver to take them to Mont Royal. "Mont Royal? What's at Mont Royal?" she asked.

"You'll see," Rami smiled, grabbing her hand and holding it in his.

When they finally reached the Kondiaronk Belvedere, the famous section of Mont Royal overlooking the skyline of Montreal, Rami couldn't have envisioned anything more perfect. He had told his plans to Jean-Philippe, who helped the idea come to fruition. The belvedere had been flooded with a skating rink, two pairs of skates hanging by the door. Lights from the chalet illuminated the area, but two floodlights pointed on the ice provided more light.

Eleanor gasped as they approached the skating rink. "Are you kidding me?!" she asked, clearly astonished.

Rami nodded his head. "Wanna go for a skate?" he asked, knowing what her answer would be.

"Do I?!" she asked rhetorically.

After they put on their skates, they glided on the ice hand in hand all the way to the edge, where the view of the Montreal skyline was most visible. It was a perfectly clear night; Rami couldn't have asked for anything better.

"I can't believe the view up here! It's so clear! And I never knew they flooded a rink on Mont Royal, let alone the Kondiaronk Belvedere," Eleanor said as she looked out into the skyline of downtown Montreal.

"Oh, they don't, usually…it's only for special occasions," Rami said.

"What are they having up here that they needed to flood a rink?" she asked, oblivious.

Rami smiled. "You'll see. I think it's a celebration of something," he said, but he knew she didn't hear him because she was looking out onto the skyline again. Montreal captivated her like no other city in the world.

They danced and goofed around, racing each other, trying to out-do each other's poor attempt at figure skating moves. At the end of it all Eleanor wanted to the extremely cheesy but still romantic Dirty Dancing lift, and Rami was all too happy to oblige. As Eleanor skated towards him, he picked her up effortlessly and raised her above his shoulders. Eleanor screamed in delight as she outstretched her arms, Rami bringing her back down after about five seconds of being suspended in air.

"This is the most perfect night," Eleanor smiled, looking at Rami. "Just you and me and Montreal."

"That's all I've ever wanted," Rami said, holding her close and tight against him. He paused for a moment. "Do you remember when we first met at the Performance Centre?" he asked.

Eleanor laughed. "Of course I do. It was my first day and Paul was showing me around. You were one of the first people to say hi and welcome me."

"Do you know what I said to Ben after I met you?"

"What?"

"I said, 'Our babies are gonna be athletic _and_ beautiful,'" he said, causing Eleanor to giggle and blush.

"You _would_."

Rami paused again, trying to collect his thoughts. "You know I love you, right?" he asked timidly.

"Of course," Eleanor answered. "And I love you too."

Rami took a deep breath. "My life…my life this past year has been the best year of my life," he began. "You're my best friend. You make me want to be a better person all the time, for everyone around me – even for people I've never met before. I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am with you."

"You make me want to be a better person too," she said, rubbing her hands along his beard. "This year has been the best year of my life, too."

"I want to have so many more with you," Rami said, moving his arms so that he could hold her hands in his. As they looked into each other's eyes, Rami steadied himself on his skates and bent down on one knee. He watched as Eleanor's eyes went wide.

"Rami…" she said nervously.

"You make me the happiest man alive, Eleanor. I want to spend the rest of my life with you…loving you, caring for you, having a family and growing old with you," he said as tears began to fall down Eleanor's cheeks. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the ring box, opening it. "Eleanor Louise Desjardins, will you marry me?"

"YES!" she wailed out, causing a giant smile to appear on Rami's face. He rose to his feet, eager to slip the ring onto her finger, but Eleanor pulled him in for a passionate kiss, their bodies pressed against each other.

When she wouldn't let go or stop kissing him, Rami giggled. "Don't you want to see the ring properly?" he asked.

"I love _you_ , I care about _you_ , not the ring," she declared as she kissed him again. "There could be a ring pop in there and I wouldn't care."

Rami smiled as he heard the words escape her mouth. He'd had a conversation with Fergal, who had been keeping the ring safe at his apartment so Eleanor wouldn't find it, about the proposal. ' _She won't even care about the ring, Rambo. She'll only want to pounce on you,'_ he'd said. "Come on, come on," he whispered, bringing the box up between them.

Eleanor gasped when she saw the ring, the perfect diamond on the rose gold band. "Rami, it's beautiful."

"That's your grandmother Louise's diamond, and the band belonged to my grandmother in Syria," he explained. Eleanor became emotional again, leaning her forehead against his chest and shedding more tears. Everything about the ring was perfect. "Let me put it on," Rami whispered, grabbing her left hand and slipping it on her finger.

Eleanor looked down at it, teary-eyed. "It's the most beautiful ring I've ever seen," she whispered to herself. "I can't believe it."

"Believe it," Rami smiled. "You're gonna be my wife."

"You have no idea how happy that makes me."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Mamma? Baba?" Rami asked as they walked through the front door of his parents' house. After the proposal and some time to themselves on the rink on the Kondiaronk Belvedere, they had mutually decided to go visit Rami's parents first to tell them the good news. Neither set of parents knew they were in Montreal in the first place, so this was definitely going to be a surprise.

Rami knew his parents wouldn't be asleep – his mom always had some late-night soap opera she watched and forced his dad to watch too. "In here!" his mother yelled in Arabic from the family room in the back. He and Eleanor walked through the darkness of the house until they stood in the doorway of the family room.

His mom and dad were sitting on the couch together. When they saw Rami appear in the doorway, they were shocked. "What are you two doing here?" his mother asked. "We thought you were your brother!"

"Mamma, Baba," Rami said again, smiling from ear to ear.

Before he could say anything else, Eleanor raised her left hand and flashed the ring. It took Rami's mom about a quarter of a second before she began to scream and wail. Rami's dad clapped his hands over his mouth. Rami's mom got up and flung herself at Eleanor, hugging her tightly and rocking from side to side. Eleanor began to cry again at her excitement, as she repeated Arabic sayings. Rami's dad was hugging him tightly.

When Rami's mom pulled away, Eleanor showed her the ring, and she inspected it like she was a gemologist. "Was this your mother's ring?" Eleanor asked.

"No, it was his," he motioned to her husband, who was speaking with Rami in Arabic and wiping tears away from his cheeks. "But I've always loved it. Only someone as special as you should wear it."

"Let me see!" Rami's dad exclaimed, as Eleanor focused her attention on him now. She brought up her hand again to show him the ring. He focused more, of course, on the band – seeing it on her finger made him emotional. "Masha'allah, I am so happy this is on _your_ finger! Masha'allah! Masha'allah!" he exclaimed as he squeezed her tightly.

"Now we must plan a wedding!" his mom announced.

"Mamma, please, let us just be engaged first," Rami said over Eleanor's laughter. His mom clearly wanted to get going right away. "You're the first people that know."

"Wait here," Rami's dad said, holding his hand up to Rami's chest. "I have something for you. Something special."

"Baba, what is it?" Rami asked as his dad scurried out of the room.

"You'll see!" he called from the hallway.

Rami's mom embraced Eleanor again. "My habibi, I am so happy. I love you so much."

"I love you too mamma," Eleanor said. "I am so happy to be a member of your family now."

"You were a member of the family long before this happened," Rami's mom said, bringing tears to Eleanor's eyes. "You and Samantha. My daughters. Daughters I never had."

Rami's dad came back into the room with a small velvet bag. "This is for you," he nodded his head towards Rami, opening the bag and finding what was inside. In between his thumb and index finger was a rose gold band, one that matched perfectly with the band on Eleanor's finger. "You are _betrothed_ now, Rami," his dad smirked. "You wear this ring now. Your grandfather's matching ring."

His dad gave the ring to Eleanor to put on Rami, grabbing Rami's right hand and raising it for her. "Arab men wear on the right first, before wedding," his mom explained. "Once married, he switches to left."

"Do you want me to do that too?"

"You do what pleases you," his mom shook her head. "You have traditions too, my habibi."

Eleanor looked at Rami as she slipped the band on to the fourth finger on his right hand. They were engaged.

She was the future Mrs. Sebai.


	43. Chapter 43

_March 7 2016_

 _eleanordesjardins: Over the moon. x123x123_

 _NatbyNature: WHAT! Sooo happy for you two! You guys deserve all the love & happiness!_

 _wwerollins: You're the luckiest guy in the world, iLikeSamiZayn. Congrats to the best couple I know._

 _wwebalor: My two best friends getting married…Life is good. Life is great._

 _WWECesaro: The best guy in the world & the best girl in the world. Couldn't ask for better friends._

 _KiddWWE: Maple Syrup Mafia's getting hitched!_

 _thechrishero: A million hearts break knowing that Eleanor is off the market. Congrats and much love._

 _CMPunk: Positive vibes for you two. Much love. Honeymoon in Mexico?_

XXXXXXXXXX

Fergal was antsy. He had been waiting all day for Eleanor and Rami to arrive at the hotel, but since they had touched down earlier that day, Rami and Eleanor had gone to lunch with CM Punk, AJ, and Colt Cabana, so Fergal was left to his own devices to entertain himself until the couple arrived. When he finally got the text, at around 2:30, that they were in their hotel room, he made a beeline to the seventh floor.

Fergal didn't care who opened the door first – regardless, he was going to jump on them. Luckily for him it was Rami, who was able to take the full brunt of his weight. Fergal comically wrapped his legs around Rami's torso as he heard Eleanor laugh. Fergal smiled from ear to ear as Rami shut the door and walked backwards into the hotel room, Fergal still wrapped around him. "Congratulaaaaaations!" he exclaimed.

Rami set him down, but before Fergal walked over to Eleanor he pointed at her accusingly. "You're stealing my husband!" he wagged his finger. "You…you husband stealer!"

That caused Eleanor to laugh even more. "When he gives you a ring, Fergal, I'll believe it. And considering how close you two are, it's not a far-fetched possibility."

"Do brass rings count? Cause we had some pretty good matches over in the UK if I do say so myself," Fergal winked, outstretching his arms for a hug. Eleanor melted into his warm embrace as he rocked her back and forth. "In all seriousness, congratulations you two," he said, looking over at Rami. "Took you long enough."

Eleanor giggled. "Wanna see the ring?"

"Who do you think kept it safe from you finding it, woman?" Fergal grinned like the Cheshire cat.

Eleanor's eyes widened as she smiled to herself. "For how long?" she asked both men.

"Since tacos in the park," Rami smiled, winking at her.

With that answer, Eleanor knew he was never going to reveal just how long he had been planning the proposal, so she let it go and focused her attention back on Fergal. "You here for 'experience', tonight?" she asked. Paul always liked to invite NXT stars to Raw shows in hot-head cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York, so they could see how the veteran Superstars reacted and fed off of the unruly crowds.

"You betcha," Fergal smiled. "Also because my best friend in the whole entire world is re-debuting tonight to kick Kevin's ass, so he needs my moral support."

"Is it a re-debut? I thought you re-debuted at the Royal Rumble," Eleanor said.

"I thought the official re-debuted was tonight?" Fergal asked.

"How many re-debuts can one person have? You only get one re-debut," Eleanor commented like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Rami threw his arms up, turning his head to Fergal. "We've been engaged four days and already she's starting with the comments," he joked. "Unbelievable."

"If I was your wife, that wouldn't happen," Fergal winked.

XXXXXXXXXX

Paul had been the first to congratulate her. He'd ended whatever conversation he was having with Michael Hayes, the main producer, the second he saw her. He hugged her so tightly and forcefully her feet left the ground. "Congratulations," he said as she was suspended in the air.

"Thanks, Paul," she smiled as he set her down. She felt so small standing next to him.

"I knew something was up when Rami asked for you two to have those days off," he revealed. "You hardly ever take days off, so I figured it must be something important."

Eleanor smiled, shaking her head. "That's Rami for you. He flew us out to Montreal in the morning so we could spend the day there."

"Where'd he propose?"

Eleanor could admit it felt weird talking to Paul about this sort of stuff. He was her boss, after all, and although they did talk about things outside of work, it still felt weird to her. Despite all that, she knew he was genuinely interested, so she indulged him. She knew she'd have to recount the story countless times over the next few weeks until everybody knew, anyway. "He proposed at night, on Mont Royal, overlooking the Montreal skyline."

"What a romantic," Paul smiled. "When I see him I'll have to congratulate him."

Eleanor nodded her head. "Anything you need me to do?" she asked.

Paul shrugged his shoulders. "Take it easy tonight. There's gonna be a lot of people who are gonna want to talk to you. Deal with them. We've got a lot of stuff covered."

Eleanor couldn't believe her ears. "Alright…uh…cool. Just buzz me if you need me."

"I always do," Paul smiled as he walked away.

Knowing that Rami was getting ready for the night, Eleanor began to wander around the building. She knew she'd see someone she knew in catering, so she decided to make her way there. She knew he'd join her there eventually anyway, so she figured she might as well go early since she had no errands to run for Paul.

When she got into catering it was practically barren. Some of the producers were there, eating an early meal ahead of the busy night ahead of them. She waved politely and looked around, seeing if anyone else she knew was sitting. That's when her eyes laid upon Colby Lopez.

He was sitting at a table on his own, looking down at his phone. She saw his crutches leaning against the chair beside him and wondered if he flew in or somehow managed to drive by himself. He had no plate of food in front of him, only a water bottle. With all of the more positive encounters and Tweets he had been sending recently – the one at Christmas, the Daniel Bryan retirement consoling, the comment on Rami being 'the luckiest guy in the world' after the engagement announcement – she thought to herself that maybe they had turned over a new leaf. Maybe they would start fresh. He didn't even notice her, but she took it upon himself to fix him a plate, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold a plate and crutches at the same time.

He looked genuinely surprised to see her standing above him holding two plates of food. He put his phone down, unable to form many words. "Hey," he managed to get out.

"Hey," she said. "I got you some chicken, pasta, and broccoli," she said casually. "You hungry?"

He nodded his head as she put the plate full of food down in front of him, sitting beside him on the side where the crutches weren't leaning on a chair. "Did you drive in from Davenport?" she asked. He nodded his head. "Did you miss us that bad?" she smiled.

Colby couldn't help but break into a smile. "That's an understatement."

"Rami misses you too. He keeps telling me all these road stories about you two," Eleanor said.

"Nothing gross, I hope."

"Well, Bryan told me about the Infamous Incident in Iowa," Eleanor revealed, to which Colby facepalmed. "I guess I can say I'm kind of lucky I wasn't around to see you guys pooping out Taco Bell on the side of a highway."

"You don't even know the half of it," Colby shook his head.

"I'm starting to. You guys experienced some weird shit in those ten years."

A silence fell between them. Eleanor could feel how tense Colby was. He looked like he was struggling with himself on what to say next. "Listen, Eleanor…I know I've been awful in the past…and I know you probably think I'm a jackass," he began.

"A lot of people think you're a jackass, Colby. That's how you got to the WWE."

"But it different with you," he said. Eleanor didn't know what he meant by that, so she waited for him to elaborate. "I don't know _why_ I was a jackass to you. You've done nothing to me," he said.

"You're the only one who can answer that," Eleanor said. "I don't know why you think I'm evil."

"I _don't_ think you're evil," he clarified. "I…I knew you had nothing to do with the whole Zahra thing. Honest to God. _She_ was the one who wanted me to call you. She demanded it. She thought you got her fired."

"Did you tell her -"

"Yes, I told her you don't have that power, but she didn't listen. She _never_ listened…" his voice trailed off. There was another silence between them. Eleanor watched as Colby shook his head. "That's why I broke up with her."

Eleanor's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?"

Colby nodded his head. "I look at my friends – I look at you and Rami, and see what you guys have, and I want that for myself. I was never going to get it with her, or by acting like a complete jackass," he said. "I know I've apologized to you before, and I know it's been literally _months_ since it's happened, but I need to apologize again. I'm sorry."

Eleanor smiled at his apology. "Thanks, Colby."

"I really admire you, Eleanor. I admire that you do all this crap for the WWE and then you go and donate your salary. I admire how you put in the work – _good_ work – and don't expect anything out of it. I can't say that about most of the people here," Colby smiled at the end. "I hope we can start over. You know, bury the hatchet. I'm sure when I'm not calling you a princess and you're not accusing me of having a thick skull that we'll get along great."

Eleanor couldn't help but smile at the sincerity in his voice. She always knew Colby was a good guy – he just surrounded himself with the wrong people and influences. "I'd love that, Colby."

XXXXXXXXXX

As Neville's music blared through the arena, setting up his match with Kevin Owens and Rami's return, Eleanor felt someone embrace her from behind. She had been standing near a monitor with her headset on, wired in with Paul, but true to his word, he hadn't asked her for much all night. She had been fielding comments from left, right and center; some superstars she wasn't close with offered her a polite congratulations, which she accepted gracefully; others, like Mercedes and Becky, wanted every detail. She never thought so many people would be so happy for them.

"ELEANOR!" Nattie's unmistakable voice echoed through the hallway. Eleanor turned around to hug her properly. "I can't believe you're engaged!"

Eleanor smiled widely as Nattie waited for her to elaborate. Nattie didn't even have to ask the question for Eleanor to know what information she wanted to know. "He proposed on our anniversary," Eleanor revealed. "He flew us back to Montreal and proposed on the top of Mont Royal."

Nattie's face lit up. "Ooooooh my God, that is so romantic! Who knew Rami had it in him?!" she giggled.

Eleanor giggled too. "I know, right? Like, blindfold to the airport and everything. We had lunch at Schwartz Deli, took a romantic bike ride, then had dinner at my favourite restaurant before going up the mountain."

"Amazing!" Nattie exclaimed. "And I loved the picture you posted as an announcement," Nattie said, referring to the picture Eleanor had posted earlier. In the picture, Rami was holding a coffee mug with "Let's have coffee together…", and Eleanor was holding one that said "…for the rest of our lives," her engagement ring and their wide smiles on full display. "But girl…come on…I gotta see it!"

Eleanor flashed her ring and Nattie grabbed her hand, gaping at the ring. "That is _stunning_ ," she said, examining the ring.

"The band is from his grandmother," Eleanor became giddy. "And the stone is from my grandmother's ring…my dad and brother gave it to him."

"That is so beautiful," Nattie commented. "I love the family connection of both. So have you started thinking about what you guys want to do yet for the wedding?"

"Well, not really. We're really just reveling in the fact that we're engaged…but I know my family has traditions we're going to need to do. Like, our ceremony has to be at Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal," Eleanor said.

"Wow! That's going to be beautiful."

Eleanor nodded her head, already thinking about the ceremony. "Everybody gets married there. And when we went to tell his parents that same night, they gave him a matching rose gold band that he wears on his right hand while he's engaged, then moves it to his left hand after we're married. It's what Arab men do."

Nattie had a giant smile on her face. "This is going to be so amazing," she commented, patting Eleanor's shoulder and pulling her in for a side-hug. "You guys are gonna have an awesome wedding."

Nattie and Eleanor both watched the screen as Kevin Owens continued to beat up Neville. As it was all going according to plan, Eleanor knew exactly what was coming up next: as Kevin prepared for the pop-up power bomb, Rami's music hit. The crowd exploded into cheers as Rami ran down the ramp and starting beating on Kevin. Eleanor smiled, knowing how great it felt for Rami to be back on Raw, and how fun the next couple of months would be for his career.


	44. Chapter 44

_A lot of you are big fans of seeing Rami and Eleanor interact with the kiddos…well, here's a treat for everyone! This chapter is 100% pure fluff and a nice break from some of the drama…especially Eleanor's back and forth between staying with WWE and starting a foundation. What do you guys think she should do? I've already made the decision…but I want to see what you guys think! Leave a comment :)_

 _March 16 2016_

"Oh my goodness, this is _so cool!_ " Maryam exclaimed as she walked around the Disney villa she'd be staying in for the next three nights, her Frozen suitcase dragging behind her. She looked behind her to her mother and Eleanor, smiling from ear to ear. "Are we gonna live here?!"

Samantha laughed. "No sweetie, we still live in Montreal. We're just staying here while we go to Disney World."

Maryam registered the information her mom just told her. "Okay. I would like to live here, though," she said casually.

Samantha snorted. "Wouldn't we all," she said, following her daughter to the bedrooms of the villa.

Rami came through the room, a giggling Ali on his shoulders. "How's the weather up there, Mr. Ali Sebai?" he said in a goofy voice. "Is it hot up there? Is it snowing?"

"It's snowing!"

"What?! It doesn't snow in Florida!" he continued in his goofy voice, Ali's giggles getting louder and louder by the moment. He lifted Ali off his shoulders and held him on his hip, bringing him to the window of the villa. "Wow Ali, look at the nice view you have!" he said, pointing out the window. "Are you excited to be staying here?"

Ali nodded his head. "I want to stay with you," he said, nuzzling himself into Rami. "Are you staying with us?"

Rami kissed Ali's cheek and nodded his head. It was somewhat of an emotional time for him – this would probably be the last time in a very, _very_ long time that he'd be able to get a weekend off to spend with his family. He wanted to savour every moment he was going to spend with his family. He could see Eleanor peeking at them through the doorway to the bedrooms, where she, Maryam, and Samantha had gone before. "I'm staying with you for the _entire_ weekend," Rami assured his nephew.

"You and Tatie Eleanor?"

"Me and Tatie Eleanor," he said as she walked in the room.

"Tatie!" Henri's voice rang through the room. Eleanor and Rami whipped around to see him running through the room. "Mommy and daddy said we're going to have a movie night with you tonight, is that true?"

"Yeeesssss it is!" she said, a smile appearing on her face.

" _Awesome!_ " Henri exclaimed, a giant smile on his face. "We haven't watched movies together in forever!"

Of course Eleanor and Rami had somewhat of an alternative motive for wanting to spend time with their nieces and nephews alone. Of course they missed them dearly, and wanted to get in all the time they could with them this weekend, before having to face the reality of work and Wrestlemania coming up – but they also wanted to talk to them about the upcoming wedding. Hamed, Samantha, Jean-Philippe, and Margot had promised not to tell the kids that she and Rami were getting married – they wanted to be the ones to reveal the news. The couples relented but were practically bursting at the seams – it had been almost two weeks of not sharing the news, and they were going crazy.

"How about you let mom and dad get ready for their date night," Rami suggested. "That way we can start our movie night sooner. Go get your pajamas on and then we can start cooking dinner!"

Henri scurried out of the room to tell his parents of his plans. Eleanor informed Maryam, who practically shooed her mother out of her and Ali's room into the "grown up's" bedroom to get ready so "Mom could leave sooner." Eleanor couldn't help but laugh as Samantha was making faces at every comment coming out of Maryam's mouth. _"I swear, when you and Rami are around, it's like Hamed and I don't even exist!"_

In about an hour's time, both couples were ready. Rami and Eleanor were busy finishing off the last bit of dinner – they had made some homemade macaroni and cheese with broccoli and cauliflower – and the five kids were ready for dinner: girls on one side of the table, boys on the other.

"How does mommy look?" Margot asked, twirling into the room. The girls giggled and smiled at Margot while Jean-Philippe leaned against the doorframe, watching his wife.

"You look good, mommy," Rosaline said.

"And what about me?" Samantha's voice called out before she mimicked Margot, spinning into the room in her own dress.

"Mommy, you look beautiful!" Maryam exclaimed.

"Thank you Maryam," Samantha smiled. "But you know what? I don't think I look as beautiful as Eleanor is going to look soon," she smiled mischievously.

A confused look took over Maryam's face. "What do you mean? Tatie Eleanor always looks beautiful," she said.

Eleanor and Rami knew this was their cue. Their siblings couldn't hold it in anymore. They shot each other a look before deciding to go for it – there wasn't going to be a better time, and they knew the parents wanted to see their children's reaction to the news. "We have some news for you guys," Rami said.

Each child looked at them wide-eyed, completely silent. Eleanor smiled. "Maryam, Ali…you can start calling me Tatie Eleanor now," she said.

"And Henri, Rosaline, and Elodie…you can start calling me Oncle Rami," Rami added.

There was a moment of silence amongst the children. "But…but we _already_ call you Tatie," Ali was the first to speak up.

Eleanor giggled. "I'm happy you do," she said, "but now Oncle Rami and I are getting married, so I'll _officially_ be your Tatie."

"Married?! You and Oncle Rami are getting married?!" Maryam asked, her jaw open.

"Yes! Rami asked me to marry him and I said yes!"

Before Eleanor could even finish the sentence, Maryam started screaming at the top of her lungs, just like she had when they told her she was going to Disney World in the first place. Eleanor was starting to think this was her go-to reaction for everything. "You're getting married?" Ali asked. "Like…like Oncle Rami is going to make you a princess like in The Little Mermaid?"

Eleanor laughed. "He's not going to make me a princess, but he's going to make me something even better – your Tatie!"

"This is so exciting!" Henri exclaimed. Being the oldest of the bunch, he truly understood what was going on. "We're gonna all be a family!"

"Exactly!" Margot said, walking over to her son, bending down and kissing him. "We're all going to become one family."

"And Rami and I need to know the answer to one very important question," Eleanor smiled again. She paused, taking in the silence of the kids. "Maryam, Elodie, Rosaline, do you want to be our flower girls?"

"Ali, Henri, do you want to be my ring boys?" Rami asked immediately after.

The boys smiled immediately. Maryam looked back and forth between Elodie and Rosaline with her mouth wide open. "You want us to be in the wedding?!"

"Of course! We can't celebrate without you!" Rami exclaimed.

Maryam was the first one out of her seat, jumping on Rami and giving him a giant hug. Henri followed, hugging Eleanor, and soon all the kids were hugging either Rami or Eleanor. It was only then Eleanor noticed that Hamed had been filming the whole thing on his phone. "I think that's a yes," he smiled.

"I think so, too."

XXXXXXXXXX

Due to the excitement of being in Disney World, Eleanor knew the kids wouldn't last long during the movie night. The added excitement of the day, with the announcement of the wedding, only fueled their fatigue. After Hamed, Samantha, Jean-Philippe, and Margot had left, Rami and Eleanor were inundated with questions pertaining to the wedding. What was everyone going to wear? What food would everyone eat? Who was going to come? They were definitely questions Rami and Eleanor had to start thinking about.

The kids had made it through the first movie, "Inside Out", and were now watching "The Good Dinosaur". Ali had crashed early, barely making it to the end of "Inside Out" before Eleanor took him to bed. Elodie had fallen asleep so Eleanor took her to bed as well. When Eleanor walked back into the room, her heart swelled with emotion at the site before her, even though she had left the room knowing what she would come back to. Henri was snuggled into Rami's left side, Rami's arm cradling him close. He was falling in and out of sleep, naturally. Maryam was snuggled into Rami's right side, her red hair spread out against his arm. Rosaline was nestled on his right too, just below Maryam, and had basically been using his stomach as a pillow for the last little while. It was all so beautiful, so intimate to Eleanor. It was so easy for her to imagine, however many years down the line, that she and Rami would be doing this exact same thing with their kids.

"Oncle Rami," Henri mumbled in a tired voice. He had not noticed Eleanor back in the room, standing in the doorway watching, since he had been falling in and out of sleep.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Are you and Tatie getting married in Montreal or here in Florida?"

"We're getting married in Montreal, Henri," Rami answered.

"And are you going to live with us in Montreal too?"

Eleanor saw Rami smile. "Well, we can't live in the same house as you, because then that's too many people! But Eleanor and I are going to buy a house in Montreal for when we come home from traveling for wrestling," Rami answered delicately, knowing his answer could make or break Henri's mood.

Rami watched as a smile crept on to Henri's face. "Good," he said, before finally closing his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I knew Henri was going to ask you a question about Montreal," Eleanor smiled, finally snuggling into Rami herself since they got back to their own private room.

"I knew it was coming, too," Rami said, wrapping his arm around Eleanor. "He's too cute. He'd think we weren't Canadian anymore if we didn't get married in Montreal."

"Exactly."

Rami kissed Eleanor's forehead as she draped her left arm over his body. He noticed the engagement ring sparkle in the dim light from the lamp he left on earlier. It truly did shine from every angle. And to think, _he_ was the one to put that ring on her finger.

Eleanor had noticed him staring at the ring and had decided to wiggle her fingers dramatically, garnering a laugh from him. He grabbed her hand and kissed it, setting it back down. "You know, I was fiddling with it the other day, while I was cleaning it," she began.

"And?"

"Did you know it's engraved?" she asked.

Rami smirked. "Oh, is it?" he asked.

When Eleanor saw him smirk she slapped him on the chest. "Rami! Why didn't you tell me it was engraved you Samsquantch!"

"I wanted you to find it," he said. "Do you know what it says?"

"No, because it's in Arabic, naturally. I tried finding the symbols on Google translate but it ended up being something about goats," Eleanor said. She saw him smirk again. "Please tell me you _did not_ engrave my engagement ring with something about goats."

"I didn't, don't worry," he said, grabbing her hand and taking off the ring. "Let me read it to you," he said quietly, finding the script and holding the ring in front of their eyes. He said what it was in Arabic, making Eleanor smile. She loved it when he spoke Arabic. She tried to repeat it but got it horribly wrong, making Rami laugh. He enunciated every syllable for her so she could pronounce it properly.

"And what does that mean?" she asked.

Rami looked at her. "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine," he whispered. He could see Eleanor begin to tear up. "My grandfather got it engraved for my grandmother when they got married, since he couldn't afford much else," Rami shared.

"That's beautiful," Eleanor whispered, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "It's perfect. So perfect."


	45. Chapter 45

_April 1, 2016: ~9:00pm_

Eleanor's body could barely stand but her mind was running a mile a minute. Another Wrestlemania weekend had been wreaking its havoc on her since she landed on Wednesday with Rami. There were charity appearances, radio interviews, podcasts, and autograph signings – the usual. Then there was Paul suddenly springing upon her, just this morning, that he wanted her at the Hall of Fame ceremony tomorrow night, even though she'd never been invited before, which resulted in her calling Margot in a panicked frenzy asking her to express ship any gown of hers to wear tomorrow. Would a gown even be here by tomorrow at 5pm? She'd just have to wait and see.

But now, at this very moment, when all her body wanted was a bed, her mind was only focused on one thing: Sami Zayn versus Shinsuke Nakamura. Paul had asked her to be in production with him yet again, and this time her automatic response wasn't 'no'. She still didn't feel like she earned her place at the table, so to speak, and every time she was in production, she mused about what Shane had told her in February, and if the idea would really come to fruition. It had been at least six weeks and there was no word about anything.

With her headset on, she was tuned in to everything going on on the screen in front of her. With the first two matches down, it was now go time. She only wished she was backstage, near gorilla position, to wish Rami good luck.

"Alright everybody, here we go," Matt Bloom announced to no one in particular. Not five seconds later, the video package began; Eleanor could hear the crowd start to rumble. This had been the most anticipated match on the card – even more so than Finn Balor versus Samoa Joe. It was every hardcore wrestling fan's wet dream.

She felt Paul nudge her, snapping her out of her mini-trance. "You alright?" he asked, putting his hand over the headset microphone so no-one would hear him.

"Just nervous," Eleanor bit her lip.

"Why would you be nervous? Don't be," Paul said simply, as if that would solve everything. "It'll be great."

"Maybe for you," Eleanor said, silently hating that he thought it was that simple. Paul wasn't with Rami when he got injured, when he was rehabbing, when he was at his low points where he would scream into a pillow out of frustration and anger. "You're watching your product. I'm watching my fiancé."

Paul looked taken aback at what Eleanor had said. By all accounts, she was right. "Touché," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I can't argue with that."

"She always gets you, man," William Regal commented from beside Eleanor. Eleanor let out a giggle as Paul smirked and shook his head at the two.

When Paul called Rami's entrance, Eleanor got goose bumps. The crowd went wild, knowing that, even though it hadn't been confirmed, that this was Sami Zayn's last match in NXT. Eleanor could tell that everybody in the production room was hyped. Matt Bloom thought it a bit odd that Rami and Shinsuke didn't want to rehearse anything beforehand, but they were two of the best in the business, so he wasn't as worried as he would have been if it were any other two wrestlers.

When Nakamura's music hit, the crowd went absolutely insane. Even Eleanor had to admit he had charisma to die for. The production and music teams had done an excellent job on his entrance video and theme music, really tying everything together. She found herself getting goose bumps all over again, just hearing the reaction from the crowd.

Every punch, every kick, and every move done by the two men in the ring was delivered flawlessly. She kept hearing rounds of "Holy fuck" and "Phenomenal, just fucking phenomenal" out of the mouths of Paul, Matt, and William. Eleanor couldn't believe she was a witness to such a match; she couldn't believe Rami was _in_ such an amazing match. And throughout the whole thing, the crowd could not get enough. It was as if the fans never stopped cheering; chants broke out what seemed like every few minutes. When the "Fight Forever" chant broke out, Eleanor couldn't help but wipe a few stray tears that had fallen from her eyes. They were chanting this at her fiancé. They wanted him to 'fight forever'. This was wrestling at its best.

She knew Rami would lose. She knew they wouldn't bring in Shinsuke Nakamura only to have him lose in his first match. It was a bittersweet feeling made better by the fact that she knew Rami was okay with it. When Nakamura hit the Kinshasa and pinned Rami, she knew it was over. The crowd was on their feet; Eleanor could spot a few fans bowing in appreciation. Even the men in the production room were clapping, as if the two men in the ring could hear them. Eleanor let out the breath she didn't know she was holding in. After more than 20 minutes, it was all over. The show of respect in the ring, with Rami and Nakamura shaking hands, was just the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae for the fans. When she saw that Rami was staying out to salute the crowd, she knew she was done for. As the fans chanted "Thank you Sami" tears rolled down her cheeks. She tried to wipe them away as fast as she could, but to no avail – Matt had seen and started to pat her back.

Eleanor was getting antsy. She knew she couldn't just get up and leave but she wanted more than anything to see Rami and congratulate him. When Paul turned to her and gave her the OK, she set down her headset and practically ran out of the room. She got backstage just in time, seeing Rami hugging people and receiving praise and congratulations. She didn't have to wait long until Eric (Enzo Amore) noticed her and started yelling at people to move out of the way so she could get to him. When Rami finally saw her, he paused for a second before a giant smile appeared on his face. She grabbed his face and kissed him quickly. She heard Eric let out a high-pitched "Ooooh!", causing her to laugh. Rami was congratulated by a few more people before he and Eleanor made their way to the locker room together.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _April 2, 2016: 12:15am_

The second Eleanor and Rami had returned to their hotel room, Eleanor began running a hot Epsom salt bath for Rami. She had a few loose ends to tie up with Paul, in terms of the schedule for tomorrow, so she let Rami relax, closing the door and letting him rest. He seemed fine in their car ride home, but she knew he must be hurting. Rami was never one to complain, anyway – she just knew how to read his signals, and his signals indicated he needed a long, hot bath.

When she got off the phone with Paul, knowing she was done for the night, she plugged her phone into its charger and made her way towards the bathroom. She wondered if she'd find Rami asleep, but decided to knock anyway just in case. When she heard a faint, "Come in," she had her answer.

She walked through the doorway, closing it again immediately after. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Good," he said, his voice showing strains of his fatigue from the busy few days he'd had, not to mention the brutal match. "Better if you'd be in here with me," he added.

Eleanor snorted. "What a way to seduce me."

"Come on, get in here," he said. "It feels so nice. God knows you need this too."

Eleanor could only oblige. Who was she to pass up sitting in a hot bath with her fiancé? She immediately started to undress, throwing her blouse over her head and wiggling out of her pants. Rami watched her and Eleanor could swear he was looking at her the same way he did almost exactly one year ago, the first time they'd been together at Wrestlemania. Even after all this time, she still had an effect on him.

She climbed into the tub carefully, making sure not to slip. Rami moved so that his legs weren't in the way, offering his hand to support her as she made her way into the water. She sat on the floor of the tub, in between his legs; he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him, her back against his chest.

Eleanor moaned in delight, the hot water and Epsom salt already working on her tired and sore muscles. She was in her own world for a few minutes, getting used to the water temperature and feeling of her muscles finally relaxing.

"Does it feel good?" Rami asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe," she mumbled, basking in the feeling. She turned her head so she could see him. "I should do this more often."

" _We_ should do this more often," he corrected her, getting a smile from Eleanor. He kissed her quickly before resting his cheek on her forehead. There was a moment of silence between them, Rami's mind running rampant about how to bring up what he wanted to talk about. "I've been thinking lately…" he whispered.

"About what?"

"How does September 17th sound?"

Eleanor turned around to look at him again. This time, instead of her eyes being closed for a kiss or half-open from indulging in the relaxing feeling, her eyes were wide open. "Are you being serious? That's in less than six months."

"I don't want to wait," Rami shrugged his shoulders. "Hell, if we hadn't promised our families we'd get married in Montreal, I would have taken you down to a courthouse already." He looked at Eleanor seeing the gears shifting in her brain. "Do _you_ want to wait?" he asked.

"No…no, I don't," Eleanor admitted. A giant surge of excitement ran through her body. "Let's set it. September 17th. It'll be perfect."

"Yeah?" Rami asked, a smile breaking out on his face.

"Yeah," Eleanor smiled. "I'll call our parents tomorrow and let them know. My dad will book it at Notre Dame. Your mom call let your Imam know too."

"Can you plan a wedding in that amount of time?" Rami asked. "My God…I didn't even think…can that even happen? Is it gonna stress you out big time? If it does, if you wanna -"

"Rami, I'll be fine," Eleanor assured him.

"Oh God, but we're _traveling_ too! I didn't even think of this! Like, we're not even in Montreal half the time! How are we gonna-"

" _Rami_ ," Eleanor interrupted him, bringing a hand up to his face. "It's gonna be okay. We've got our family to help us. We've got Samantha and, hell, we've got Margot."

"Yeah…you're right…"

"And not for anything…but it's not like we're gonna have to shop around to see who the best caterer or florist is…we…my family…we already know who they are. We can just book it all. No questions asked."

"That's true."

"We'll talk about the specifics after Wrestlemania weekend. If I start now I'm not gonna be able to stop," Eleanor said. "And I have too much stuff left to do for Wrestlemania for me not to be 100% committed to it."

"Okay, deal," Rami said, giving her a quick kiss atop her head.

Eleanor settled back in to his chest, although she wasn't as completely comfortable as she was before. Now that Rami had brought up the wedding date, there was something _she_ needed to get off her chest – something she had been thinking about for a while.

"Rami…" she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I uh…can…can we talk about something?"

She felt Rami shift behind her, moving her so he could look her in the eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I uh…well…" she trailed off, keeping her eyes fixed on anything but his eyes.

"Eleanor, look at me," he said, bringing his hand up underneath her chin, making her look him in the eyes. "Talk to me, darling. What's wrong?"

How was she even supposed to bring this up? She should have thought about it first. God, this was going to be a disaster. "I've just been thinking lately…" she mumbled.

"About?"

She took a deep breath, preparing herself. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I've been thinking about babies."

As to be expected, Rami's eyebrows rose. "Babies," he repeated.

"It all started at Disney World. You were just being so cute with the kids and it got me thinking about how good a dad you'll be one day because I know how much you want a family but I don't know if it's something you want soon or something down the line and if you -"

Eleanor's rambling was cut off by Rami planting a kiss on her lips. When he pulled away, he smiled lovingly at her. "Eleanor, you know I want to start a family with you more than anything," he said. "I don't think that's the big issue. I just…I'm constantly on the road, and will be for a lot of the foreseeable future. I'm not going to be spending as much time at home as I want. And I don't want you to feel alone at home with our child. I don't want to force you into anything."

"You won't be."

"I don't…" he began, emotion evident in his voice. Eleanor could tell he was trying to hold back. "I don't want to be some absentee father. I want to be there for our children."

"You _will_ be," Eleanor said, moving closer to him in the water. "Rami, you'll be the best dad I know. We'll be able to work it out. We always have."

Rami took a deep breath in. "So what does this mean?"

Eleanor smiled. "I guess…it happens when it happens. We can start trying after the wedding, and when I get pregnant, I get pregnant."

Rami smiled, kissing Eleanor passionately. "How about trying now?" he mumbled into her ear.

"I'm already planning a wedding in five months. Don't push it," she warned him, giggling as he moved down, sucking and nipping at her neck.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _April 2, 2016_

"I can't believe my sister-in-law shipped me _this_ ," Eleanor complained from inside the washroom. Nattie had invited Eleanor to get ready for the Hall of Fame ceremony together the second she knew Eleanor was going. Nattie had seen her working all week, so she knew Eleanor needed a little bit of girl time. Eleanor readily accepted, making sure Rami knew what suit he was supposed to be wearing before she left.

"What do you mean?" Nattie called out, applying a second coat of mascara on her eyelashes. "You said you liked the dress!"

"I _do_ …it's just the most daring thing I own," Eleanor said. "I bought it when I was in my early twenties."

"You say that as if you're forty five, Eleanor. You're _thirty_ ," Nattie said.

Finally emerging from the washroom, Nattie's jaw practically hit the floor once she saw Eleanor emerge. The dress in question – the one that Eleanor was so worried about – was a floor length, green plunging v-neck Elie Saab with exquisite beading all the way down the sheath-style dress. She had gotten her hair done earlier in a chic twisted bun, and Nattie had helped her with her subtle make-up. " _Eleanor_ ," Nattie gaped.

"Is it too much? Too flashy?"

"Flashy? Have you seen what some of us wear?" Nattie joked. "Seriously, Eleanor, you look amazing. You're gonna blow everyone out of the water."

Eleanor couldn't help but smile at Nattie's compliment. "You think Rami will like it?"

Nattie giggled. "I think Rami will want to take it off you…but yeah, he'll like it."

Eleanor and Nattie talked for a bit longer, touching up their eyeliner and their blush before hearing a knock on the door. Both girls knew it was Rami, so Nattie urged Eleanor to open the door first.

When Eleanor opened the door, presenting herself, it took Rami a few seconds for Rami to take in the sight before him. He adored Eleanor in anything she wore – jeans and a t-shirt, her nicer work clothes, a pair of old pajamas – but this, _this_ dress was different. Was it the colour? Was it the way it fit her body perfectly? He'd never know – all he knew was that she looked phenomenal. "Wow," he stuttered out, biting his lip as his eyes scanned her top to bottom. "I…eh…wow."

"Hey stranger," Eleanor smiled, loving that she had this effect on Rami. "Don't you look dapper in your suit and tie," she said, grabbing hold of the tie knot to tighten it a bit more. She smoothed out the material and kept her hands on his chest. He still hadn't said a coherent word; he just kept looking at her.

"Rami, doesn't she look amazing?!" Nattie asked rhetorically, watching the scene unfold. "She thought the dress might be too flashy but I think it's just right."

"It looks…she looks…unbelievable," Rami managed to get out.

"Well, we're actually a bit early, but do you guys want to head out now?" Nattie asked, checking her phone.

"Uhhh…yeah Nattie we're gonna see you there," Rami said quickly, the first coherent sentence to come out of his mouth.

"What? Why?" Nattie asked, feigning shock. She knew exactly why Rami would stall.

"Um, Eleanor has to uh, help me pick a…uh, a pocket square. Yeah, a pocket square," he stuttered, grabbing Eleanor's hand. Nattie smiled mischievously, though Eleanor nor Rami saw. Each were too preoccupied with each other: Rami with how Eleanor looked, Eleanor with Rami's rudeness. "Plus we gotta talk about confidential stuff for tomorrow. We'll be like, ten, fifteen minutes max. Just wait in your room and we'll grab a cab together," Rami said, pulling Eleanor down the hallway.

"Rami…" Eleanor scolded him quietly as he dragged her along.

She looked back to Nattie's room and saw Nattie wave at them, a giant smile on her face. "Don't forget to put a sock on the doorknob!"

XXXXXXXXXX

 _April 2, 2016: ~6:30pm_

When Eleanor entered the arena for the Hall of Fame ceremony, she immediately became hyper-conscious of everyone and everything around her. Rami seemed to have no clue, still in his _"I-just-had-a-hot-quickie-with-my-fiancee-all-dressed-up-in-a-fancy-gown-without-ruining-her-hair"_ euphoria, waving at fans in the stands as they screamed his name. She saw a couple of them give him a thumbs up as they gaped at her – they weren't exactly being discreet about what they thought of her.

"Eleanor?" she heard her name being called. She looked behind her to see Nicole, her mouth wide open; John Cena was just slightly behind her, speaking with a handler. "Holy shit, Elle. Can you be any hotter?"

Eleanor blushed at Nikki's comment. "You're one to talk."

"I may look good but you're on a whole other level," Nikki said. "Seriously. Is that dress Elie Saab?"

"Yeah," Eleanor smiled, knowing that Nikki knew her designers.

Before Nikki could respond, another voice boomed, "Holy _shit_ , Eleanor!" Both she and Rami turned to see Becky smiling widely. "Dude! That dress is amazing!" she beamed.

"Thanks," Eleanor said, feeling Rami's arm slip around her waist proudly. "You're looking pretty good yourself."

"Hey Rambo, the media line is over there," Becky pointed to the cameras and different media outlets waiting to talk with the Superstars. "May as well get it over and done with now so you can enjoy some of the night."

Rami looked down at Eleanor. "I'm guessing you don't want to do media."

Eleanor shook her head. "Nobody needs to know I'm here. Plus, the second Paul sees me, he's probably gonna put me to work."

Rami nodded his head in understanding, kissing her quickly before asking a handler to lead him through the media line. Eleanor stood around awkwardly for a moment before looking at the seating chart – the chart she had helped make – to see if anything had changed. Sure enough, she saw hers and Rami's faces right behind Paul, Stephanie, and their family. Of course Paul would change the seating plan without telling her. _Of course_.

"Last I checked, a producer isn't supposed to look this good," Eleanor heard a voice say from behind her. She turned around to see Shane McMahon smiling at her. "Usually it's old guys in mom jeans."

Eleanor blushed. "I'm allowed to look this good since I'm not a producer," she said.

Shane furrowed his eyebrows. "You didn't take the job?"

"No-one's offered, Shane."

His face lightened up again. "I open my mouth too much sometimes, don't I?"

"You do," Eleanor smirked.

"Well, have fun tonight, kid. Take it all in before you're stuck in a production truck," Shane said before walking away.

Eleanor knew she couldn't take what Shane had told her seriously. He was only just back with the company – surely he didn't know the minute details of who Paul wanted to promote or move around? Surely Paul would have to talk to Vince about it, anyway – if he was going to offer her a producer position on Raw, it would _have_ to go through Vince. Raw was a huge deal, being the flagship show. People weren't just promoted to Raw without a lot of experience first, right? _Right?_

She was beginning to make herself nervous. She wished the media line wasn't so long; she wished Rami could be beside her right now. Not that Shane would have said that to her if Rami was beside her – Shane seemed to taunt her only when she was alone. With good reason – God knows if a superstar would hear, news like that would spread like wildfire. _'Did you hear? Eleanor Desjardins is getting a producer position. And of course you know why, don't you?'_

She knew she shouldn't think like this. She had been with the company for years, doing a lot of hard work – surely if she was going to get a promotion, she deserved it, didn't she?

Eleanor bit her lip, trying to shake the anxious feeling. She noticed Paul out of the corner of her eye, walking in and greeting the people around him. He seemed so relaxed, a complete opposite to her. She watched as he began speaking to a reporter, Stephanie looking on at him lovingly. Even after all these years, Stephanie still had a sparkle in her eye for him. When he noticed her, after his interview, standing awkwardly as current superstars and legends walked past her, he approached her with a smile on his face. "Well don't you look fancy," he commented.

"Thanks."

"I hope you don't mind, I changed the seating arrangement last minute," he smirked at her, looking back at his seat and pointing for extra effect.

"I saw. I knew you would. You can never have me too far away," she shook her head.

"Tomorrow, at 8am, I need to have a meeting with you before you get started at Fan Access," he said in a serious tone.

"About what?" she asked.

"You'll see tomorrow," he said. "Just have a good night tonight. Have some fun. You're not working."

Paul walked away leaving Eleanor alone again. Her mind began to run furiously, thinking about the possibilities of what he wanted to talk about.

In the pit of her stomach, though, she already knew.


	46. Chapter 46

_April 3, 2016: 8:05 am_

Eleanor looked around Paul's suite as she sat at his dining table, trying to get her mind to focus on anything besides the meeting they were about to have. She knew it wasn't going to be about schedules, or NXT, or what to do later on tonight during Wrestlemania – she already knew all that; they had been over it countless times, and the schedule was set in stone.

Rami held her throughout the night, rubbing her back and placing kisses on her forehead to try and calm her nerves. He'd woken up when she began to get ready, if only just to calm her – she encouraged him to get as much sleep as possible for the big night ahead of him. _"Whatever happens, Eleanor, I'm here for you, and I love you."_

Paul finally sat down at the dining table with a few sheets of paper and a WWE folder in front of him. "How'd you sleep?" he asked, trying to make casual conversation.

"Good."

"Rami still sleeping?" he asked. Eleanor nodded her head. "Good. He's in for quite a night."

Eleanor didn't respond as Paul shuffled some of the papers he had brought with him. When he finally set them down, he crossed his arms and leaned on the table. "Last SummerSlam, I brought you into production just to watch, and I could tell you were uncomfortable," he started. "But then, just a couple of weeks ago, with no formal training, you called the Shane McMahon entrance."

Eleanor thought back to how nervous she was that night; how mad she was at Paul to have just casually said, _'How about you call this?'_ when there was a room of people who had been doing it for years.

"I was impressed," Paul admitted. "But, you know who was more impressed? Dogg. Michael Hayes. So much so that Dogg went straight to Vince that night and told him about what you did. At the next meeting, Hayes brought you up as a real asset to the company, and specifically to production. He said it was a marvel that after my shitty crash course, you were still able to call something so well," Paul elaborated. "So naturally, Vince talked to me about it. He wanted my honest opinion."

Paul paused for dramatic effect. Eleanor was convinced he loved to see her squirm. "And?" she asked.

"I told him the truth," he shrugged his shoulders. "I told him that you _are_ a real asset to this company, in whatever position you're going to be in. In terms of production…you're still a little bit green. You still need to work on it. But you're good. You're dedicated, you're willing to learn." He paused again.

"So what does all of this mean?" Eleanor asked.

Paul smiled for the first time since the meeting began. "As much as it pains me to say this, because you're going to be taken away from organizing my life…Eleanor…I'm offering you a position as a producer of Monday Night Raw."

Paul opened the folder, handing over the contract he had already written for her. She knew they would have to go through it more formally sometime later on – with lawyers present, mostly to work out the fine details – but now, now it was staring her in the face. A contract to become a producer of Raw. Eleanor looked down at it, thoughtlessly glossed her hand over the front page, the giant WWE logo dominating.

Her mind was going a mile a minute. First, it took her back to Valentine's Day, to Rami's suggestion of starting a foundation. She clung on to the idea almost immediately. There would be no doubt her family would support her if she pursued it. Her mother had been waiting for her to do something similar for quite a while – as she had made abundantly clear that night. She would be following her family's footsteps into philanthropy, more formally than she was now, since the foundation would have hers and Rami's names on it. It was a noble thing to do, no doubt. But in the back of her mind, Eleanor knew, due to her privilege, it could be done at _any_ time.

Here, in front of her now, was this great opportunity for her _career_ , for her to establish herself in something other than philanthropy, outside of Montreal, in a business she had come to love, regardless of how crazy, time-consuming, and dramatic it could be. She had worked hard in her position as a personal assistant, and though becoming a producer wasn't logically the next step, she had come to the realization early on that nothing that happened in the wrestling business was the 'logical next step'. Never in a million years did she think this opportunity would be presented to her. And she was almost positive the position would never open up to her again. She couldn't help thinking that that, in this moment, she was at the right place at the right time.

She looked up at Paul, who was staring at her intensely, trying to read her. "Paul…" she paused, making him wait. "I'll take it."

A giant smile took over his face. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Alright…alright cool," he said, getting up from his seat. Eleanor followed and extended her hand, thinking he was coming in for a handshake, but he extended his arms to giver her a giant hug instead. "If you think I'm bad now just wait until you see me in production," he joked, causing Eleanor to laugh out loud.

"I've handled you for years now. I'll be good," she mused as they both sat back down in their seats.

"There are three things we need to discuss before I let you go," Paul said. Eleanor nodded her head to show she was listening. "One is that you'll be doing your training, per se, in NXT and on Raw, and a lot of it is going to be on the job. Bloom knows about this and he's really excited to have you on board. We're looking for you to start officially sometime in June," he said. "Second – in the same time frame…my God, it's gonna kill me to say this…in the same time frame, you're gonna need to start conducting interviews to find your replacement. I'm not exactly sure of the specifics of the position yet – I don't know if he or she is gonna travel a lot like you did…more than likely they'll just stay in Florida…"

"No problem, Paul. I'll draft something up and get you to look over it before we post it," Eleanor said.

"Third – and I'm sure you know this…but uh, any work you do, any storylines you work on will _not_ involve Rami. It's a conflict of interest," he said.

Eleanor nodded her head. "That's a given."

"I want you to know you got here by hard work. When people start hearing about this, they're gonna talk. That's the nature of this business. They're going to say all sorts of things about 'why' you got this position, but you can't take what they say to heart. Ignore them. Show them what you're made of. I want you to know you got this job because I've thrown everything at you for years and you've succeeded at everything," Paul said. "Like I said before, you're a hard worker. You can do anything you set your mind to."

"Thanks, Paul," Eleanor said.

"And if anything ever gets bad – anything to do with your new position, the talk, the gossiping – you come to me. I'm still your boss. I'm still looking out for you."

Eleanor smiled. "Will do, Paul. Thank you…thank you for having so much faith in me to do this," she said.

"You earned it," he said simply. "Now go back to your room and spend some time with Rami before your day starts."

Eleanor smiled as she left, walking down the hallway to the elevators so she could go back to her room. Truth be told, she could keep the smile off her face, even letting out a giggle before the elevator stopped to let her off on her floor. As she walked back into her room, she saw Rami was still sleeping. She rolled into bed gently and snuggled against him. His eyes opened as he felt her body against his.

"Hey," he said in a sleepy voice. "How did it go?"

"It went well," Eleanor said, biting her lip to supress a smile.

"What happened?"

"Well…Paul offered me a position to be a producer on Raw…and I said yes."

Rami sprung up in bed, his eyes wide. He was _definitely_ wide-awake now. "You…he…what?!"

Eleanor giggled as Rami looked down at her. "He told me that I impressed Road Dogg and Michael Hayes, and that he talked to Vince about it, and…here we are," she told him. "I'm going to train on the job for a bit, then start sometime in June."

A giant smile appeared on Rami's face. "I can't believe it! I…you…you accepted!" he exclaimed. "You're staying with WWE!" Eleanor nodded quickly before she was pulled in by Rami, giving her a sloppy, wet kiss. He rolled over so that he pinned her under him. "I'm so happy for you. I'm so _proud_ of you," he whispered, kissing the tip of her nose. "You're going to be amazing."

XXXXXXXXXX

 _April 3, 2016: 7:00pm_

Eleanor had been quietly congratulated by Road Dogg, Michael Hayes, and William Regal when she had gotten to AT&T Stadium with Rami – pulled aside each time, given a firm handshake, a warm smile, and a variation of "Welcome to the team." News travelled fast – she was just thankful that this was good news.

Eleanor left Rami with Claudio, who, they conveniently found out, was going to be returning tomorrow night on Raw. She made her way to Paul and Stephanie's office, where she got her briefings, headset for the night, and other information she needed. She wrote out the schedule on a giant whiteboard, and moved it to an area where she knew every superstar would see it; she went to check camera positions, lights, the sound truck; she followed up with each and every Superstar involved in the show, making sure they knew their schedule; she even met with Dwayne Johnson to do a quick run-through of what he would be doing during the show. It was manic, and very tiresome, but Eleanor knew that, because of her work, the show would run as smoothly as a Wrestlemania could. That was all she wished for.

Eventually, she switched headsets to one connected with the production team, although she wouldn't be sitting with them tonight. During the bit of downtime she had before the show started, she went to visit Rami in the locker room. The Intercontinental Title ladder match was starting the show, so she knew this was the only chance she was going to get to see him before the show actually began.

She knocked lightly on the door, waiting for someone to open it. The first face she saw was Claudio's. He smiled at her before calling out to Rami that she was at the door.

Claudio stepped out of the room and kissed her cheek quickly. _"Congratulations on your new position,"_ he said to her in French. _"Rami told me earlier."_

" _Thanks, Claudio,"_ she smiled back. _"I hope he wasn't bragging to everyone."_

" _No, just me,"_ he said. _"He figures you'll tell everyone, or everyone will just catch on eventually. He's so happy for you."_

Before Eleanor could respond, Rami popped through the door, his ring gear already on. "Hey," he greeted her, smiling. "You've got some down time?"

Eleanor nodded her head. Claudio bid them a farewell, telling Eleanor he'd see her during the show, before slipping back into the room. Rami leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. "How are you feeling?" Eleanor asked.

"I'm feeling okay," Rami said, unconvincingly.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

Rami nodded his head. "There's gonna be almost a hundred thousand people out there," he said quietly. "I've come a long way from wrestling in the back of bars and bingo halls in Montreal," he said.

"You've been working for this for fourteen years," Eleanor said, moving closer to him and putting her left hand on his shoulder, rubbing down his arm and up again. "You're ready for this."

"I have this irrational fear of fucking up in the ring," Rami said, half-laughing. "I know it's not gonna happen…I mean me and the guys have gone over the spots countless times…"

"You're not going to fuck up," Eleanor assured him. "You have a lot of chemistry with the guys you're working with. You're all going to be out there, making each other look like a million bucks."

"You're right," Rami said, grabbing her hand away from his arm, bringing it to his lips and kissing it. He wiggled her engagement ring with his thumb. "There's gonna be some spots that'll make you cringe."

Eleanor wrinkled her face. "Do you love to torture me?" she asked. At least he was being honest with her.

"You know I do."

"Are you gonna need another Epsom salt bath tonight?"

"If you're in there with me again, sure."

Eleanor laughed, stepping closer to him to close the gap before kissing him quickly. She stayed close to him, intertwining her fingers with his. "Are you going to be safe tonight?" she half-mumbled.

"Of course," he answered firmly. He knew his safety was her number one concern whenever he stepped into the ring.

Eleanor nodded her head. She knew he always was; she just needed the reassurance. "I'm gonna let you go…prepare with the guys and prepare mentally for this match," she said. Rami nodded his head. He loved how she always respected his pre-match rituals. "I love you," she said, squeezing his hand and kissing him again. "And I'll try to see you after your match."

"Don't go out of your way, okay? I'll come find you," Rami said. "And I love you too. More than you'll ever know."

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor was positive she didn't have any nails left to bite. She swore out loud during a lot of Rami's spots, especially the more painful ones – she was lucky she remembered to block the microphone from her headset so no one in production heard her. Fergal, who was set to be a part of Paul's entrance later in the night, stood with her near the monitor, more amused by her reactions than what was happening in the ring. Eleanor knew Zack Ryder was going to win, but that didn't make her any less sad that Rami didn't win the Intercontinental Title. She knew it would happen all in due time.

She was called for something before Rami came back through the curtain; needless to say she was angry she was not able to see him right after his match. He'd done some pretty intense stuff and she wanted to make sure he was okay. Reluctantly, she ran through backstage to locate Scott Hall – there was a photo opportunity at hand with Zack Ryder, and she needed to know where he was so the photographer could go to him. Like many guests, especially those invited by Paul and not officially on the show, he was watching from catering.

Just as she was about to tell the producer where Scott was, she heard Adam Birch, better known as Joey Mercury's voice in her ear. "Hey El, Rami's looking for you."

Eleanor rolled her eyes to herself. "I know Adam, but I was sent to find Scott Hall – he's in catering, by the way."

"Okay, cool. When you're done get yourself to the medical rooms."

Eleanor froze in her tracks. "What happened to him?" she demanded.

"Nothing! You don't expect him to be peachy keen after a frog splash from Kevin onto a ladder, do you?" Adam asked rhetorically. "He's just in some pain and wants to see you. Nothing's broken."

Eleanor let out as much of a sigh as she could. "Tell him I'll be two minutes."

Approaching Scott Hall, she politely let him know how various media outlets and photographers would be paying him a visit soon to take pictures with Zack Ryder. After she made sure he understood and knew what would be happening, she booked it out of catering, running through backstage again until she made it to the medical rooms. Finding Rami now proved to be a game. Knocking on the first door, she saw Kevin; she politely congratulated him on the amazing match, he jokingly apologized for killing her fiancé. Door number two brought her face to face with Nick, who she also politely congratulated. Door number three finally held Rami, whose abs were already taped up.

She walked through the room like it was her own house, despite knowing the medics probably weren't done with him yet. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Rami shrugged his shoulders. "Could be better…but, if I'm being honest, I thought it would hurt a lot worse. At least it's not my shoulder."

Eleanor moved out of the medic's way as he brought over a cooling agent for Rami's neck. Eleanor looked on from the sidelines, not wanting to bother the medic. Soon enough, the medic smiled. "You're good to go Rambo. It might hurt while you're changing after this but by tomorrow it shouldn't be too bad," he said.

"Thanks Jim," Rami said, shaking his hand. He hopped off the gurney and grabbed Eleanor's hand. "Are you busy? Or can you help me change?" he asked.

"Nobody's blaring into my ear right now – let's do it before someone does," she said. She noticed his bag in the room – someone must have ran and grabbed it for him – so she grabbed it and placed it on the gurney, getting his shirt out first. She helped him put it on, scrunching her face and slowing down when she heard his grunts of pain. What seemed like the smallest, most mundane movements, like moving his arm to get it in the sleeve, seemed to hurt like hell. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, genuinely worried.

Rami nodded his head. "Just…go slower…" he whispered, only one arm in the sleeve. Eleanor nodded and followed his direction, moving at a much slower pace. She helped untie his wrestling boots and take his ring gear off, helping him step in to his boxers and pants.

As she pulled his pants up his legs, she looked up and saw him smiling down at her. "Oh my God, don't even," she giggled.

"You'd make a hot nurse," he commented.

"Too bad I faint at the sight of blood."

Rami grumbled jokingly as Eleanor did up his zipper and button. "Thank you darling," he said in a much lower voice, kissing her forehead.

What could have been a perfect moment was ruined by Michael Hayes calling at her through her headset. "Hey Eleanor, we've lost Scott again. He's not in catering and the photographers are waiting!"

He was so loud Rami could hear him. He gave Eleanor a sympathetic look as he grabbed her hands. "It's okay," he assured her. "Go and do your work. We'll catch up later."

"Will you be okay?"

"I've been through worse," he said. "I'll be okay. You worry about finding a wandering Scott Hall."

"Eleanor?!" Michael Hayes' voice blasted through the headset again.

"I'm on it!" Eleanor yelled, giving Rami a quick kiss before she scurried out of the room.


	47. Chapter 47

_This is a bit of a filler chapter…hope you enjoy anyway!_

 _Just a quick author's note in relation to the progression of this story…as you can probably assume due to the events, this story is winding down. I was planning to have their wedding as the last official chapter, plus four or five one-shots of future happenings. There is always the possibility that I will write more for this story, but I feel like the wedding would be the natural end. I could try and write more Sami Zayn fiction but Rami/Eleanor are totally my OTP now and I can't really imagine myself writing him with someone else._

 _That being said, I am developing another story…started out as a plot bunny (as they always do), and it's now developed into something more. It's a Seth Rollins/OC – let me know if you'd like to see this!_

 _XXXXXXXXXX_

 _April 13, 2016_

"I don't think I've ever been this hot in my life," Eleanor said, fanning herself. She looked over at Rami smiling at her, seemingly fine and not as uncomfortably hot as she was. "Seriously. Bless your Arab soul for being able to survive in this weather but I'm dying."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure the car will have air conditioning. So will the dressmaker," he assured her.

"I hope so, or else I'll be sweating all over them while they measure me," Eleanor mused.

The WWE was doing their tour of the United Arab Emirates simultaneously with their European Tour. Eleanor had decided to go to the UAE with Rami, having been to Europe more times than she could count; they would eventually fly to London anyway, since Raw would be broadcast from there. The WWE relied on Rami a lot whenever they went to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, since he was of Arab descent and was able to speak Arabic with all of the media. It was amazing for Eleanor to see Rami being seen as a sort of hometown hero – an Arab wrestler others could aspire to be. He loved coming to the UAE to perform for the Arab fans, and Eleanor could now see why.

During their half-day break, Eleanor and Rami had decided to visit a custom dressmaker so Eleanor could be measured for a _nikkah_ dress. It was no question that they'd take part in the traditional Muslim marriage ceremony, especially since it was so important to Rami's parents that he be married in Islam, along with the Catholic Church. The ceremony would be small and intimate, with just their immediate families at Rami's parents' house. Eleanor wanted to be as respectful to the faith and ceremony as possible, so she made the decision to have a modest dress made, with long sleeves and it being floor length.

Soon enough their driver arrived, and luckily for Eleanor, the air conditioning was on full-blast. Rami made small talk with the driver as he manoeuvred through the streets, the driver correctly guessing Rami's Arabic accent. After about 15 minutes, the driver pulled up to the dressmaker's studio – Rami made sure the driver knew to be back in one hour.

Once inside, Rami did all of the talking. The dressmaker, Samar Hussein, greeted them with her measuring tape around her neck, guiding them to the back of the studio where a lot of the fabric and other dresses were on display. Eleanor was automatically enamoured with what she saw: fabric in such lush and brilliant colours, intricate patterns, and beading. She knew she had come to the right place.

She was taken out of her awe when she saw Rami smiling at her. "Samar wants to know if you like any of the dresses in particular here," he said.

Eleanor nodded her head, walking over to an intricate lace and beaded dress in the corner. It had ¾ length sleeves and a beaded bodice with an empire waist. "I _love_ this one," Eleanor said, stroking the fabric. "If I could get something like this I'd be a happy camper."

Samar smiled as she walked over to the dress. "This one pretty," she smiled, stroking the fabric like Eleanor had been doing. "Style is nice for your body. But not colour."

"What colour do you think would look nice?" Eleanor asked.

Samar made a motion for Eleanor to follow her, towards the section where she had different fabric samples in all different colours. "We make skirt chiffon. You very beautiful, very….how do you say?" she looked at Rami, saying an Arabic word.

Rami smiled. "She's saying you're very girly," he translated.

Samar nodded her head. "You will look beautiful in light pink. Like blush," she said, pointing to a fabric on the wall.

Eleanor smiled, looking back at the dress, then at the fabric Samar was suggesting. "Beautiful," she said. "Let's measure me. I have a feeling I'm gonna fall in love with this dress."

Rami smiled, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "That's the cue to call my mom. She wants to see this. Let's see if she remembers how to use FaceTime."

He began to dial her number as Eleanor turned her attention back to Samar. Samar began ushering Eleanor to the platform she was to stand on so Samar could take her measurements. Eleanor could hear Rami speaking to his mom on the phone. He walked over to them with a smile on his face. "Here mamma, here's Eleanor," he said, turning the phone so Eleanor was on full display.

"Eleanor!" Rami's mom exclaimed from the phone. "This FaceTime, it works!"

Eleanor giggled. "Yes mamma, thank God!"

"Where is the dressmaker?" she asked, squinting her eyes. "I don't see her. Have you chosen fabric? What about colour? Style? Lace?"

"Mamma, calm down," Rami said from behind the phone. "We just got here 10 minutes ago."

Rami pointed the phone towards Samar, who waved once she saw Rami's mom. Suddenly, the women started speaking to each other in rapid Arabic, and of course Eleanor couldn't keep up. Rami looked a bit confused as to what they were talking about as well, but Eleanor figured it was about what she was just asking about – fabric, style, colour of the dress. Samar began to hand motion around Eleanor's body, describing the dress to Rami's mom. They spoke back and forth at length about the bodice of the dress – Eleanor only knew this since Samar kept motioning along her arms and chest.

"Mamma, stop telling the professional how to do her job," Rami laughed. "She knows what she's doing!"

"Rami!" his mom scolded him. "I'm not! I'm asking about the dress! And the detail!"

"She says you from Canada," Samar said to Eleanor. "Long time Canadian. We embroider maple leaf pattern onto dress, for something for you."

Eleanor's eyes lit up at the possibility. "Mamma, is that okay on the dress?" she asked Rami's mom. "I don't want to be -"

"Of course it's okay," Rami's mom interrupted. She started speaking Arabic to Samar again, causing Rami and Eleanor to give each other a look. Rami's mom had become so excited about the wedding in the past month that sometimes Eleanor felt she should hand the entire wedding planning to her. She was already doing a lot, with planning and executing the nikkah at her house, so Eleanor figured if she wanted the dress to look a certain way, she should have the input.

"Eleanor, you happy with what Samar has for you?" his mom asked suddenly. "She tells me the dress will be very beautiful."

"Yes mamma, I love what she has. Do you?"

"From what she says I think you will look amazing," Rami's mom smiled. Eleanor put her hand over her heart after hearing the compliment.

"Is there anything you want for the dress, mamma?"

Rami's mom vehemently shook her head. "Oh, no no no," she said. "I had my nikkah years ago, habibi. This is yours. You decide what you wear."

"Thank you mamma," Rami said, looking at Eleanor, her hand still over her heart. "Eleanor will look beautiful. Don't you worry."

XXXXXXXXXX

 _April 18, 2016_

"Wait, so let me get this straight," Nattie needed clarification for what Eleanor was telling her. "A simple phone call from your mother was able to get Valentino – _the_ Valentino, the creator of the most gorgeous gowns in the history of the universe, who retired in 2008 – out of his retirement to design your wedding dress."

Eleanor nodded her head. "Rami and I made a pit-stop in Paris so we could get measured – me for my dress, Rami for his tux. He's been sketching since my mom told him about it."

"You realize how big of a deal that is, right?" Nattie asked.

"Of course I do. I got angry with my mom for even calling him in the first place. The poor man has been retired for almost eight years. But then, when I went over, he said that he would have gotten upset if my mother _didn't_ call him to design it," Eleanor explained. "He designed her wedding dress, and Margot's, so it was apparently 'only natural' that he design mine too."

Nattie leaned back in her seat, shaking her head. "If Nicole could hear you talk right now Eleanor, she'd be in complete awe."

"I know, I know," Eleanor said, nodding her head. "It's a lot to take in."

"But hey, this is your _wedding_. You're only doing this once. You should go all out. If you can't do it at your wedding then when _can_ you?" Nattie asked rhetorically.

"Did I tell you Rami and I picked a date?" Eleanor smiled.

Nattie's eyes widened as she leaned forward in excitement. "No! When is it?"

"September 17," Eleanor revealed. "I just have to hear back from the Ritz-Carleton sometime today or tomorrow but everything is pretty much set."

"Oh my God, that's going to be amazing!" Nattie exclaimed. "I can't even begin to tell you how excited TJ and I are for you guys."

"Well, you two better save the date," Eleanor said in a much lower voice. A lot of people were around in catering and she didn't want anyone to overhear. "You're obviously invited. Formal invitation to follow," she winked.

Nattie's jaw dropped. "We are?"

"Obviously! You're a great friend, Nattie, and TJ and Rami are close too. I mean, we're not inviting _everybody_ around here, but there's going to be a good chunk. You two are basically at the top of the list, no question."

Nattie clapped excitedly and hugged Eleanor. It was no question to Eleanor that Nattie and TJ be invited – Nattie had always been so nice and friendly, and they had struck up a solid friendship during their time knowing each other. Eleanor knew Nattie never judged her, and Eleanor knew she could always go to Nattie for advice on anything – the wrestling world, being in a relationship with a wrestler, and much more.

Eleanor was soon called to production to begin her pre-Raw training. As she stepped inside, she saw Adam Birch (Joey Mercury) and Sara Amato sitting, reading over some notes. Sara looked up when she heard Eleanor close the door and gave her a smile. "Hey! Come sit by me. You're going to help with the women tonight," she informed her.

"Awesome," Eleanor smiled, making her way around the tables.

"Then you'll help with the tag teams," Adam informed her. "Ready to learn?"

Eleanor spent the next hour taking in more information than she'd ever been exposed to in one sitting, and that counts all the university courses she took, too. It seemed as if Sara and Adam never stopped talking and showing her things: how the matches were supposed to progress, at what point in the show they were, how they were being used to advance the storylines, and so much more. She was shown camera angles, proper words to call those specific camera angles, and how to communicate properly with the referees in the ring in order to call moves, sequences, or to wrap up a match.

Sara and Adam were great teachers. With The New Day in the ring already with a referee, they simulated themselves in a real match, and Eleanor was able to call specific sequences and camera angles. To say she was nervous was an understatement, but she thought she did relatively well. Sara seemed to be impressed with her, which made Eleanor happy.

Adam ended up bringing her down to the ring with him to officially go over the match with everyone involved. When Ettore saw her accompany Adam, he gave her a surprised look. "What are you doing down here with a production headset on, woman?" he asked.

"She's training with us, E," Adam informed him. All three members had huge smiles on their faces at the revelation of the news. "Be nice."

"Congratulations, Eleanor!" Kofi said.

"Movin' on up!" Austin exclaimed.

"Thanks guys," she smiled shyly. "I'm just going to be here taking notes. I'm not calling anything for you guys yet."

"It'll happen soon enough," Ettore commented. "Sit back and take it all in, girl."

Eleanor's hand could barely keep up with every idea coming forward for the match. She figured everything they said was important and needed to be written down for future reference. When she and Adam were back in the production room, the three pages of notes scribbled into her notebook astounded him.

"Are you a court stenographer or a producer?" he asked rhetorically, flipping between the pages. "You didn't have to write all this down."

"I figured it was all important," she said.

Adam laughed. "Rookie mistake." He saw the downtrodden look appear on Eleanor's face and quickly decided to resolve it. "It's okay, Eleanor. It's not a bad thing. Hell, I'd actually prefer you to write everything down right now while you're learning," he began. "You just have to get used to just writing down the major points. If you write down everything and plan every single camera angle before the match starts, then it's going to look _way_ too over-produced. We hate that. The fans hate that. We want it to look more natural. Some of this stuff they may not even end up doing."

"What do we do then?" Eleanor asked.

Adam shrugged his shoulders. "We go with the flow. A majority of them know what they're doing out there."

Eleanor smiled to herself. _Go with the flow_ was much easier said than done for her, especially since she was coming from a position where she had to be hyper-organized at all times. "I'm gonna have to learn to do that," she admitted.

"And that's fine, Eleanor. Nobody said you had to be amazing right off the bat," Adam assured her warmly. "Just remember that if you trust the talent in the ring, then they'll trust you. That's how we call become successful at our jobs here. Trust."


	48. Chapter 48

_It's my birthday today! Here is an update, and as a special treat since I'm feeling generous, I'll upload another chapter tomorrow too :)_

 _May 1_ _st_ _, 2016_

138 days to go.

Eleanor knew she only had five months to plan her wedding but things were moving at an alarming speed, even for her. They had booked Notre Dame Basilica for the ceremony and the Ritz-Carlton for the reception. She had consulted with a Michelin-starred chef in Montreal, Lucien Lyon, who was going to create a sample menu for her and Rami to taste the next time they were in Montreal. She'd chosen her flowers, the table linens, and centrepieces. A calligrapher was hard at work designing the invitations to Eleanor's liking. And, of course, Valentino's seamstresses and Samar Hussein were hard at work on her dresses. She had always envisioned her wedding since she was young, like so many other girls, but having it all come to fruition was exciting yet overwhelming.

Most importantly, she and Rami had chosen their best man and maid of honour. It was not a surprise to anyone that Eleanor chose Margot to be her maid of honour – the fact Eleanor had to ask her was purely a formality. Rami chose Fergal to be his best man; Fergal had apparently cried when Rami asked him, from what Rami told her. The next time Fergal saw Eleanor he hugged her extra tight, thanking her for letting him play such a big role in their wedding, whispering to her that he loved her and that he'd always be there for the two of them. If his goal was to make her cry he almost succeeded; Eleanor definitely had to hold back tears in front of the backstage crew who were walking around.

But now, in production, flowers and linens were the absolute last thing on Eleanor's mind. Still in training mode, she was sitting in production, helping Adam with calling Enzo and Cass versus the Vaudevillains. It was the match to start the show and she could feel the energy in the crowd. She only hoped her work with Adam was translating well on screen.

As the tag teams got into the match, production was relatively silent. The teams did their beginning sequences, and performed everything according to plan. Everything was going according to plan, until Simon Gotch kneed Enzo. Eleanor could tell automatically that he'd actually hit Eric.

"That was stiff," Eleanor said as she watched Eric stagger in the ring. Adam looked over at her; glad he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"He's alright," Michael Hayes dismissed her.

What happened next nobody could anticipate. Gotch was supposed to throw him out of the ring and Eric take a simple baseball slide, but in his discombobulated state, Eric didn't know where he was. As he got thrown out, his head hit the ropes and snapped back, beating violently against the mat.

Eleanor screamed loudly, pushing her chair back and gripping the table, her eyes glued to the screen. She watched as Eric fell out of the ring, completely lifeless. His eyes were open and empty.

"He's dead," Eleanor covered her mouth with her hands. "He's fucking dead. Ref! Ref! Check on him!" she yelled into her microphone as she watched Bill walk over. Even he knew something wasn't right.

"Eleanor, calm down," she heard Michael Hayes' voice.

"He's lost consciousness you buffoon! Get the medics out there!" she screamed into her microphone, just in time to see the referee throw up the X sign with his hands, signifying a legitimate injury. As soon as he did, Eleanor whipped off her headphones and ran out of production, Adam following behind her.

As she ran through backstage, she saw superstars congregated around the TVs, worried looks on all their faces. She saw Paul, blaring things into his walkie-talkie as Eleanor made her way towards Gorilla.

She saw Rami and Kevin glued to a monitor. Tears had already formed in Rami's eyes. "What's going on? Is he okay?" he asked. Kevin stood beside him, his own eyes red.

"Listen to me, both of you," she said sternly to both men. "You're up next. You both need to go out there and be the best match of the night. You have to make the fans temporarily forget this, got it? The show has to go on. I know he's your friend and I know you're worried but you have to do this for him, okay?"

Before they could answer, Eric's stretcher was being wheeled through. Paul and Adam were immediately at the side, checking on Eric. She gave one last look to Kevin and Rami who nodded their heads quickly in understanding. She left them to be at Eric's side.

"Eleanor, you're going to the hospital," Paul said sternly. "Call me when you get any news."

Eleanor nodded her head in agreement, as if she had a choice. She shed her production headphones and anything else she was wearing that connected her to other personnel, leaving them on a production box before jumping into the back of the ambulance with Eric and the medics. The last thing she saw before they closed the doors was Rami trying to get a peek inside, wiping tears from his cheeks.

XXXXXXXXXX

With everybody around her speaking medical jargon, Eleanor had no idea what was going on. The only good news to her was that Eric had regained consciousness and was speaking by the time they arrived at the hospital. He had been getting tested for almost the entire time, Eleanor not allowed in the room. She didn't want to text or call Paul until she knew some definitive news.

After what felt like hours, the doctor finally called Eleanor into the room. Eric was still on the stretcher but he looked much better than he did when he was being stretchered out of the ring.

The doctor led Eleanor to Eric. "Mr. Arndt, can you tell me who this is?" the doctor pointed to Eleanor.

Eric's eyes squinted. "That's Eleanor. She's my Bruce Springsteen karaoke partner," he said confidently.

A giant smile overtook Eleanor's face. "Hi, Eric," she said, wiping a stray tear off her cheek.

"Why are you crying doll face?" he asked.

"You! You scared me."

Eric gave her a look. "You really think that mat was gonna do serious damage to a head as hard as mine?"

She couldn't help but laugh again. "I can't believe you."

"Believe it, doll face." He looked at the doctor. "When can I leave?"

The doctor huffed. Eleanor wasn't sure if he was just unimpressed with Eric's question, or if Eric had been asking it since he regained consciousness and he was sick of hearing it. "Mr. Arndt, we have to see what the tests say," the doctor said sternly.

"But I can move my arms and legs, that means no broken neck right?"

"Correct, but you have a _concussion_ , Mr. Arndt. There could be other, more serious issues," the doctor said.

"Alright, well get 'em in here then," Eric said nonchalantly. "I can guarantee you there's nothing more serious going on up there than a concussion."

The doctor looked over at Eleanor, half-exasperated, half-amused. "Is he always like this?" he asked.

"You don't even know the half of it."

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor let out a giant sigh before she sat down to call Paul to relay the information she had been given. The phone barely rang three times before he picked up. "What's the diagnosis?" he asked, not bothering to say hello.

"It's a concussion," Eleanor breathed into the phone, holding her head in her hands.

"Only a concussion? You're serious?" He was convinced, upon re-watching the video, that it was something a lot more serious.

"Yeah, I know, but that's what the doctor said. Only a concussion," Eleanor repeated.

"Jesus, alright. I'll make sure it gets tweeted out. I'm uh…I'm gonna need you to come back here though," Paul said.

"What? Why?"

"Partly to calm everyone down, partly to drive Joe back to the hotel."

Eleanor was confused. "Joe doesn't have his own car or something?"

"He does, but we're picking up on some tweets…similar stuff from when he won the rumble," Paul said, and Eleanor immediately understood. Some fans were so upset about his win in Philadelphia that they decided to form a makeshift blockade at the exit of the arena so they could harass superstars they didn't like – in particular, Roman. "We don't want another one of those. If he's hiding in the back with you and Rami no one will know. Just smuggle him to the hotel, then go back to the hospital."

"Alright. I'll just go tell Eric I need to leave for about an hour," she said. "I'll talk to you later."

"By the way," Paul said quickly, before Eleanor could hang up. "You called Hayes a buffoon."

Eleanor's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "I what?"

"You don't remember?" Paul laughed.

"No!"

"He was downplaying what was happening and you screamed _'He's lost consciousness you buffoon!',_ " Paul mimicked her voice.

"Oh my God," Eleanor facepalmed. She couldn't believe she said something like that in the heat of the moment. Worse yet, she didn't even remember saying it. "I bet he's super angry with me."

"He's fine. He's been called much worse," Paul assured her.

"Regardless, can you give me his number? I'll call him and apologize."

Eleanor memorized the number Paul gave her and quickly punched it into her phone, along with an apology, before going back into Eric's room.

"How are things, doll face?" Eric asked.

"I have to go back to the arena for a bit, just to settle everyone down in regards to you," she explained to him. "I'll definitely be back, and with Rami."

"You take care of what you need to take care of," Eric said. "You're a champ for dealing with this, anyway. Go calm everyone down and tell them how I made the doctor angry."

"Will do, Eric," she giggled, grabbing her purse and squeezing his hand before leaving.

When Eleanor got back to the arena, she was swarmed by everyone asking how Eric was. She told everyone who asked the relatively good news and the comments he had made; that he was in good spirits despite what had happened. She could feel everyone take a collective sigh of relief once they heard the news – concussions were serious business, but Eric was lucky to get off with just that, considering the impact. Bill had already left the building, en route to the hospital; Paul had probably given him the news first.

As she walked around backstage, she finally found Rami by a monitor with Kevin, already showered and changed, watching the current match, Roman Reigns versus AJ Styles. She snuck up behind him, getting his attention by running her hand across the back of his shoulders. He turned around immediately, clearly surprised to see her. "Why are you back? Shouldn't you be at the hospital?"

"Paul's asked us to smuggle Joe out of the arena tonight cause they've been seeing some tweets online or something. Everyone loves you so they won't block you or kick your car," Eleanor informed him.

Rami remembered hearing those stories of that Royal Rumble in Philadelphia. For some reason, he hadn't been there that night, but he was told multiple stories about it from his friends for weeks to come. He wouldn't have wanted to be in that situation, ever. He couldn't even imagine what would have been going through Joe's mind. "Alright, cool. That'll take us all of five minutes. Then we can go check on Eric?"

"Yeah."

"How is he?" Kevin asked.

Eleanor relayed the relatively good news. "Just a concussion. He won't be cleared for something like four weeks but it's not as bad as it looked."

Both men had surprised looks on their faces. It was an understatement to say that it looked 'bad' – it looked fucking awful. "That guy's got a horseshoe up his ass," Kevin commented, smiling. "I thought he fucking died."

"You and me both," Eleanor commented. "I'm gonna go find Paul quickly, relay the news straight from the horse's mouth," she told Rami. I'll meet you back here in ten."

XXXXXXXXXX

When all was said and done, Eleanor and Rami finally made it to the hospital. They had driven Joe back to the hotel and, just as Paul predicted, none of the fans lingering around the arena or hotel had a clue he was in their backseat. He was apologetic and extremely polite about the whole ordeal, wanting to just drive out himself anyway, but security wasn't having it. Eleanor had always liked Joe, and she hated seeing him get so much heat from the fans. She just hoped that, in due time, they'd grow to love him like they loved Cena.

As Eleanor and Rami stood in the elevator, waiting as it brought them up to their desired floor, she looked over at him and noticed the fatigue in his eyes. Now that he was on the main roster, he was on a constant time schedule of traveling and wrestling; he'd had very few off days since Wrestlemania, and the odd time he did, he had flown to Montreal with her to have input on the wedding planning.

As they made their way to Eric's room, they could already hear an array of voices from down the hall. They approached the room, finding Kevin and Bill still there. Eric was up and about, walking over to her and Rami when he noticed them in the doorway. Eric and Rami chatted for a bit, Eric relaying to Rami his experience in the ring, being knocked out, and finally regaining consciousness.

"I even made poor Eleanor cry," he said, reaching back and grabbing her arm gently, bringing her in to the conversation. "I told her nothing could hurt a head as hard as mine."

Rami chuckled. "Yeah, that thing's tougher than a diamond."

"I hope you know I called Michael Hayes a buffoon because of you," Eleanor mentioned.

Eric's eyes went wide. "You _what_?"

Eleanor shook her head, embarrassed that it happened. "He was a lot calmer than me, trying to downplay what happened, and I yelled at him, 'He's lost consciousness, you buffoon!'" Eleanor said. Eric facepalmed. Rami was shaking his head but laughing at the same time. "I don't even remember this, because I was so caught up. Paul told me."

Eric looked at Rami. "This is what you gotta look forward to, man. 'Take out the garbage, you buffoon!'" he screamed in a high-pitched, annoying voice, clearly mocking Eleanor. She slapped his arm and scrunched up her face, to which he only mimicked her and continued his onslaught. Despite the drama of the evening, Eleanor was happy Eric was back to his old self.


	49. Chapter 49

_Some more drama for everyone…this is the scene I was talking about a while ago – as in the beginning author's note to Chapter 36. Thirteen chapters later here it is!_

 _May 6, 2016_

"Thanks for all your help, Matt," Eleanor smiled as Matt Bloom began collecting his sheets and notepad. She had been in production for NXT and had called some matches with his help. Matt knew so much about the business; Eleanor was truly amazed that she was able to work with him. He was a great teacher.

"Anytime, Eleanor!" he smiled. "You're improving so much. The way you called the end of the Nakamura and Alex Riley match was good. You could see the crowd wasn't in to it. Even though you waited for me to call it short, you were still prepared. That's good," he said. "And you called it to the referee like a pro."

Eleanor couldn't help but smile at his praise. "Anything I should improve on?"

"Well, I'll write 'em down…I know you like everything in writing," he joked. "What I can tell you now is that your mind needs to be sharp, always ahead of the curve. Just like you knew how to call the ending, you need to be on the ball about the next set of moves, what's going to lead up to the next pin."

Eleanor took everything Matt was telling her to heart. "Okay, thanks Matt. Let me just clean up everything here and I'll come meet you in your office."

"Sounds good, kid," Matt smiled, walking out of the room.

As Eleanor began to organize her notes and collect them all neatly in her folder, she began to feel the fatigue in her body. It had been another whirlwind few days: it was purely coincidental, but it just so happened that Rami, Eleanor, and Colby were all in Orlando at the same time; Eleanor for business, and to finally post the job posting for a new executive assistant for Paul; Rami came to tag along and give some advice to some of the new recruits; and Colby to see the doctors and physiotherapists, and to get some intense training in. The three had gone to lunch together earlier that day, and had generally hung out with each other the entire time. She knew both Rami and Colby were lurking around the building somewhere, and after going to see Matt again, she knew she'd have to find them.

As she stood up from her seat to leave the room, she heard some commotion down the hallway. Just as she made it to the front of the room, she heard a voice huffing and puffing, yelling, " _Where's production? Where is it?!"_

Before she could do much else, Kevin Kiley, better known as Alex Riley, appeared in the hallway. "What the fuck was that?!" Kevin demanded, stomping into the room. "What the fuck?!"

"What's wrong, Kevin?" she approached the conversation cautiously.

"Why the fuck was my match cut short, huh? Why'd you call it so early?" he demanded.

"I was relaying what Matt was saying – _I_ didn't call it by myself," she explained.

"You think you've got all the power cause you work with Paul?" he heard absolutely nothing she'd said because of his rage. He gripped her arm with his hand tightly, jerking her back and forth. "If you ever pull that shit again there's going to be _severe_ consequences."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Damn right I am!" he yelled, gripping her even tighter.

Eleanor winced, trying to pry his fingers off their vice grip on her arm. "Let go, Kevin! Let go of me!"

"What's with all the yell—HEY!" Suddenly Eleanor saw Colby walk through the door. He took in the situation quickly and acted accordingly. "Get your hands off her, Kev!" he yelled, shoving Kevin away from Eleanor.

"Mind your own business, Lopez," Kevin focused his anger temporarily on Colby.

Colby huffed, shaking his head at Kevin. Kevin wasn't scaring him at all, and he be damned if he was going to scare Eleanor any further. Colby looked over at her to see her eyes wide, staring at Kevin. He knew he needed to get Eleanor out of the room so Kevin could blow off some steam. "Let's go, Eleanor," Colby said, dismissing Kevin.

Eleanor didn't say another word, and began to walk towards Colby and the door, clutching her notepad and folder against her chest. Suddenly, she heard him take steps towards her. "I'm not finished yet!" Kevin yelled, grabbing her again at her shoulder and pulling her back, causing her to lose her balance and stumble.

That was the last straw for Colby. He wound up and punched Kevin in the face. Eleanor shrieked as she heard the fist-to-face impact. Kevin was bending over, clutching his face in his hands. She looked over at Colby with her jaw on the floor. His chest was heaving as he shook his hand out, checking his knuckles. "Go. Now."

She ran out of the room on a mission to find Regal, Matt Bloom – anyone with enough authority to do something. She found Rami refilling his water bottle. "Rami! Rami!" she called out to him. "Where's Matt? We need to find Matt!"

Rami looked over at her immediately, seeing the scared and worried look on her face. "What's going on?"

"Colby just punched Kevin in production. We need to go get him and we need to tell someone or Paul and we need to get Colby and calm him down -" Eleanor began to ramble nervously.

"What? Colby and Kevin got into it? Why?" Rami asked.

"Kevin was yelling at me cause he thought I cut his match short, and I guess -"

"Kevin was yelling at you?" Rami asked in a serious tone.

Eleanor nodded her head quickly before continuing, "And I guess Colby overheard the yelling, so when Colby was getting me to leave the room, Kevin pulled me back in and -"

" _Wait_ ," Rami said sternly, raising his hand and causing Eleanor to go silent, besides her heavy breathing. "Kevin _pulled_ you back in? He put his hands on you?"

"Y…Yeah."

Rami saw red, and with a flicker in his eyes, Eleanor knew she lost him. He began stomping through the halls to the production room so fast Eleanor had to jog to keep up. She kept calling his name to get him to stop, but to no avail.

"Adam! ADAM!" she called for Adam, who was taking a phone call. Upon watching Rami's angry beeline into the production area, seeing Eleanor running after him, and sensing the panic in her voice, he immediately dropped the phone call and ran with her.

Eleanor and Adam got into the room just in time to see Rami wind up and clock Kevin right in the jaw. Eleanor shrieked again as she saw Kevin stagger back and fall down from the impact. "You put your hands on my wife?!" Rami screamed at the top of his lungs, Colby holding him back. "Huh?! _You put your hands on my wife?!_ "

"Rami, back off," Adam warned.

"You motherfucker," Rami bellowed as Colby continued to shove him back so he couldn't get another shot in on Kevin.

"Rami, _out_ , NOW. Colby, get him out of here!" Adam ordered, not bothering to tend to Kevin. "Get to Bloom's office – _now!_ "

Eleanor could only watch as Colby shoved Rami out of the room. She looked at Kevin, who was cradling his jaw. She looked at Adam, who wasn't even tending to Kevin – he was looking at Eleanor. "You get to Bloom's office too," Adam said in a calm voice. "He's going to want to hear your story above everyone else's."

XXXXXXXXXX

Colby, Rami, and Eleanor sat in Matt Bloom's office as if they were three kids in a principal's office, waiting for detention. Every so often the two men would flex their fingers, checking their red knuckles. Matt Bloom had already called her out of the room to get her side of the story, without the interruptions of Colby or Rami. He did the same with the two men shortly after, and now they were stuck waiting.

Before long, Matt entered the room again, a stern look on his face. Eleanor didn't feel any nervous energy from Rami or Colby – she only had to assume this was a semi-common occurrence in the indies, but definitely not in the WWE locker room. And in the indies, there definitely weren't any major repercussions.

Matt sat across from them at his desk, looking at them. He stared at them a while before he began speaking. "The good thing about the Performance Centre is that every room has a camera," he began. "And Eleanor, your story matches up with what we saw on tape."

Eleanor exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding in. She hadn't lied about anything – she was just glad the truth was on video. "So what does this mean?" she asked.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to call Paul and relay what has happened to him. Being the EVP of Talent, the order has to come from him, as you understand," Bloom said.

"Yeah, sure," Eleanor nodded her head.

"Kevin should be fuckin' embarrassed," Colby let out. "It was despicable the way he was talking to her."

"I understand, Colby," Matt said curtly. "But you understand you're going to be punished for your actions."

"Fine me, whatever. I know I did the right thing," Colby muttered.

"You two can be here, in the room," Matt nodded at Rami and Colby. "But I'm sure Paul's gonna want to hear Eleanor's side of things more than yours," Matt said. He looked to Eleanor again. "I don't want you to be nervous. You have to tell him exactly what you told me," he continued, speed dialing Paul's number on the office phone.

Eleanor nodded her head. "I will. Are you guys…I mean, is the footage being wired to Stamford?" she asked, and Matt nodded his head.

"Matt? Where's Eleanor?" Paul demanded, not even bothering to say hello. Eleanor guessed he had Matt's number in his phone so he knew he was calling.

"She's right here, Paul," Matt said. "You're on speaker."

"Eleanor, are you okay?" Paul asked immediately.

"Yes Paul, I'm fine. Please don't blow this out of proportion," Eleanor warned.

"Blow this out of proportion? Eleanor, a superstar put his hands on you. I'm blowing this out of proportion whether you like it or not. Tell me what happened _now_."

Eleanor told the exact same story of events that she had relayed to Matt to Paul. He didn't speak the entire time; from working with him and knowing him for so long, she knew it meant he was angry. As she kept telling her turn of events, she could only imagine him getting angrier and angrier.

When she was finished, Paul didn't wait long to start speaking. "He's fucking fired, Matt. Tell him to pack his shit and leave, and not to look back."

" _Paul_ ," Eleanor said sternly.

"He's fired Eleanor. He put his hands on you? He's dead and gone," Paul said. "That's not me being rash. That's protocol."

"What's the punishment for Colby and Rami?" Matt asked.

"Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine dollars. Anything higher and we'd have to report it, and I'm not having that. Especially since people will connect Rami with Eleanor. The media would have a fucking field day, especially in Canada."

Eleanor was grateful for Paul's quick thinking. She looked over at Rami and Colby, their faces still serious. Matt was nodding his head. "Well they're glad to hear that, Paul. They're here in the room too."

"Put out a statement, Matt, and release it ASAP," Paul ignored the little tidbit of information. "I'll be fucking _damned_ if I see him in any wrestling promotion again."

XXXXXXXXXX

 _WWE Official Statement_

 _Kevin Kiley, known to fans as WWE Superstar Alex Riley, has been fired from the company due to extremely unprofessional conduct and an altercation with an employee._

 _The WWE does not tolerate such behaviour and Kevin Kiley's firing is effective immediately._

XXXXXXXXXX

 _May 22, 2016_

"Are we all buckled in?" Claudio asked from the driver's seat.

"We're good to go!" Rami chimed in from the backseat, finally clicking his seatbelt in. He leaned forward and grabbed Colby's shoulders, sitting in the front seat. "Feel good, buddy?!"

Colby had just returned from his injury, interrupting the ending of Extreme Rules. Earlier in the night, Rami and Claudio participated in an epic fatal-fourway match for the Intercontinental Title – needless to say, everyone was on a high due to their success. Colby laughed as Claudio reversed from their parking spot. "Feels fuckin' amazing, man," Colby said. "Everything went off without a hitch."

"And that crowd reaction was amazing," Claudio chimed in, driving through the parking lot and finally out into the street. "Everybody's really happy to have you back."

"I'm happy to _be_ back. I just wanted to soak it in all night," Colby admitted. "But hey, Baltimore awaits." He turned to look at Eleanor in the backseat. "You calling my promo tomorrow?"

"No idea," Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. "I doubt it, since it's so important and I'm still technically in training."

"Try to push for it!" Colby encouraged her. "How amazing would it be if we got to work together?"

Rami smiled at the conversation happening before him, so incredibly happy to see Eleanor and Colby getting along, working together, and being friends. Although they got off to a rocky start, Rami was impressed that they were able to turn over a new leaf and be friends.

The foursome barely stayed quiet as the conversation flowed naturally from one topic to another. Colby, still hyped from his return and the crowd reaction, did most of the talking. "Hey, how's the wedding planning going?" Colby asked suddenly, looking back at Eleanor and Rami.

Eleanor shrieked when she heard the question, not believing that she almost completely forgot to give Claudio and Colby their invitations. She dug into her handbag to retrieve them, giving them both to Colby. "I can't believe I almost forgot! These are for you!"

Colby's eyes went wide as he held the invitations in his hands. "Invitations! He exclaimed, prying one open. He held the invitation in his hands as he read it out loud,

 _Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Catherine Desjardins and_

 _Mr. and Mrs. Yousef and Halla Sebai_

 _Request the honour of your presence_

 _At the wedding of their children_

 _Eleanor Louise_

 _To_

 _Rami Tariq_

 _Saturday, the seventeenth of September_

 _Two thousand and sixteen_

 _At eleven o'clock in the morning_

 _Notre Dame Basilica_

 _Old Montreal_

 _Reception to follow_

 _At six o'clock in the evening_

 _The Ritz-Carlton Montreal_

 _1228 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest_

 _In lieu of gifts, donations may be made to Montrealers Supporting Syrians_

Rami grabbed Eleanor's hand as Colby read out the invitation. Claudio smiled throughout the reading and was first to comment. "September 17! You guys don't want to wait, do you?" he joked.

"Would you want to wait?" Rami asked, raising her hand to kiss it. "I told her already that if we hadn't promised our families we'd get married in Montreal, I'd have taken her down to the courthouse already."

"But that's not _romantic_ Rami," Claudio said.

"Yeah Rami, be romantic for once in your life!" Colby chastised him.

"Hey! I've been romantic plenty of times! Right Eleanor?" he looked to his fiancé for confirmation.

"Uuuuuhhhhh," she smiled.

" _Eleanoooorrr!"_

"Who's gonna be invited anyway?" Claudio asked.

Eleanor began to recite the names of their co-workers that would be attending, "You two, obviously, Fergal, TJ and Nattie, Ben and Natalie, Kevin and his family, Bryan and Brie, Phil and April, Chris Hero, Sasha and Mikaze, Becky, Pamela and Aaron, Jericho and his family, Eric and Bill, Jon and Renee, Breeze and his girlfriend, Matt Bloom and his wife, Regal and his wife, Omega's flying in from Japan…and Paul and Stephanie."

Eleanor saw Colby smirk as she revealed the names. "This is gonna be one hell of a wedding."


	50. Chapter 50

_June 6, 2016_

103 days to go.

Ever since the WWE made the announcement that Smackdown would be going live on Tuesday nights, Eleanor's mind had been in overdrive mode – it was almost as if her wedding, the most important day of her life, was taking second fiddle. There was no clear indication on anything regarding the move to Tuesdays being live. Would the writers be split? Would the producers work both shows or only one? How would the talent be split? What about the titles? She kept thinking back to a conversation she had with Paul in confidence just a day after the announcement…

" _Something is obviously bothering you about this announcement since you keep bringing it up. Either you tell me or I'm going to start guessing," Paul said. "And you know how long I like to guess for."_

 _Eleanor pursed her lips. "Paul…I've never pulled my weight around here, ever. I've always done what you've asked me. And now I need to tell you something."_

" _What?"_

 _Eleanor paused. "He stays on Raw, Paul."_

 _There was a silence between the two, Paul realizing what Eleanor meant. "Nothing's set in stone, but I'll see wh-"_

" _NO, Paul. He stays on Raw. He stays on the flagship show."_

" _Don't put this all on me. You're gonna be in the decision room too. You're gonna be in those meetings."_

 _Eleanor was taken aback by what Paul was saying. "I am?"  
Paul let out an exasperated sigh. "Of course you are, Eleanor! You're a producer now! You contribute to the show!"_

" _But you always get the final say."_

" _Vince always gets the final say. Impress him enough at the meeting and he'll listen to you."_

She had the date written in her calendar. July 16, at the Stamford offices, would be the meeting with all the writers, producers, and Vince McMahon. That's when they were going to make the decisions. She shuddered just thinking about it.

And now, she was shuddering about Monday Night Raw. It was her first official night as a producer. She felt like she was going to throw up since that morning. In the production meeting before the show, she was given the responsibility of producing the AJ Styles/John Cena promo for that night. Adam and Sara had championed for her to do it. She thanked them profusely, but on the inside she was more scared than she'd ever been in her life. If she fucked this up, if it all went tits up, she knew she'd be gone; relegated back to an assistant or another position. Rami tried his best to calm her nerves, but even at his best and most caring, nothing could help.

When she read over the script the writers gave her, she not only became nervous, she became angry. The words printed on the page had been said millions of times before, in promos for Randy Orton, The Rock, and any other champion or "top guy" throughout the decades. It was nothing new. She hated it, and she knew the fans would hate it. She felt like ripping it up, throwing it in the garbage, and re-writing it herself. She knew only the seasoned and most trusted producers were allowed to do that, but part of her wanted to do it anyway. All she needed was the push…

Before her thoughts could go any further, a towering figure approached her – none other than John Cena. "I heard I have the new girl producing me tonight," he smiled at her. Allen was following close behind, obviously wanting in on the conversation. "Did you write for us, too?" John asked.

Eleanor shook her head. "No. And that's the problem. I'm going to kill the writers."

"Why's that?" Allen asked.

"Listen…they've written something for you guys, but it's hot garbage," Eleanor began. "It's been seen 100 times before, and I'll be damned if my first segment has been done 100 times before."

"So what does this mean?" Allen asked.

She looked both men in the eye before proceeding. "How do you guys feel about re-writing? We have to come up with something together and execute it well so it gets people talking."

Allen and John looked at each other, smirking, knowing exactly where this was going. "Well I'm up for anything," John said. "What were you thinking?"

Eleanor took a deep breath. "This match is a big deal to a lot of people, so I want us to go full meta. Allen talks about you burying people. John can mention the Bullet Club, but don't actually say Bullet Club."

Eleanor watched as Allen and John's grins turned into full-out smiles. "Oh, this is gonna be good," Allen commented.

"Just remember to keep it within WWE perametres," she cautioned. "Bottom line is, I trust you guys. You've both been doing this for the better part of 15 years."

"You think the old boys will be okay with this?" John asked. "I don't want to get you in trouble on your first night."

The thought ran through Eleanor's mind, but she quickly rationalized that she was willing to take the risk. "Don't worry about it. I'm a big girl, I can handle it," she said.

"You sure?"

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way," Eleanor began, "but you're John Cena. You can kill a nun on a heap of dead puppies and Vince will still love you. So I think unless you really, _really_ fuck up, which is highly unlikely, we'll all be fine."

John and Allen couldn't help but laugh at her comment. "We've got this, Eleanor," John assured her. "You've got nothing to worry about."

Eleanor nodded her head in understanding. She knew she could give advice on what to say, but they were professionals; they knew what they were doing. Plus, John knew how to work the crowd and come up with things on the fly based on their attitude and reactions. Anything too over-produced would kill the momentum going into the match. "I'll leave you guys to it, but I'll be back in about 10 or 15 minutes to get some notes and points."

"We'll see you soon, Eleanor," Allen waved.

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor felt like all eyes were on her during the segment. She was probably sweating through her clothes because she was so stressed. Allen began the promo, and Eleanor started calling out to the cameras.

" _You insult me John Cena. You're great on the mic, that's what you do, you're great on your little morning shows, and your late night shows, your movies…not necessarily the ones you star in but your cameos are very entertaining…But you insult me…every time that bell rings. And I know it burns you up inside that even on your best day, you can't beat me,"_ he waved his hands in front of his face in a mock you-can't-see-me motion. _"Hey, I'll tell you the same things I tell me kids when they ask 'Dad, why haven't you ever wrestled John Cena?'_ _It's simple. John doesn't want to be in the ring with me because I would run circles around him."_

John cut in. _"I see a man who worked two decades to try and make it on the grandest stage of them all, and then finally was a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble, and did nothing,"_ John said, to which the crowd 'oooooohhh'ed. _"A man that was gifted an opportunity at the WWE championship and failed. And then, failed again. And instead of being a real man, shaking it off, dusting it off and getting right back into the action, you started to second-guess yourself. Because those little cronies you've been surrounding yourself with over the past 20 years have been saying your God's gift to sports entertainment…but you get here and you're a bust,"_ garnering another 'oooooooh' from the crowd. _"So you look to the one guy, the one guy…you think you can take me out is gonna save your ass. You can walk around these halls with your head held high and say 'I belong here'…Dude, that's not phenomenal, that's freakin' desperate. I wanna make something clear with you right now. You couldn't get past Roman Reigns, and now you pickin' a fight with John Cena? You do not know who you're dealing with."_

John waited as the crowd cheered. Eleanor knew things were about to get good. _"So Mr. Phenomenal,"_ John continued, _"Let me ask you one question. Why on Earth is it not AJ Styles versus John Cena, why is it now John Cena versus the Club?"_

Eleanor took a deep breath. _"Cause everybody who knows this place, knows that once you wrestle John Cena and lose, it's time to get out the shovels,"_ Allen said. Then, of course, came the line, _"Cause guys like you BURY guys like me!"_ from Allen. What seemed like everyone in the crowd let out an audible gasp. Eleanor quickly glanced over at Paul, who was trying to hide his smile with his hand. Vince still had his poker face on. The promo continued, with John bringing up the goons of the "Pull It Club". At this point, even Adam and Sara were visibly smiling; Paul, Eleanor could tell, was still smirking.

When the segment ended and they cut to commercial, Sara turned to Eleanor giving her a high five, while Adam patted her on the back. Finlay turned around and congratulated her.

Vince suddenly turned around, staring at Eleanor. "You were responsible for that?" he asked.

Eleanor gulped. "Yes sir."

"Hm," he nodded his head once, turning back in his seat, his poker face still in full effect. Eleanor didn't know what to make of the brief interaction. Was he happy? Upset? Disappointed?

As Eleanor settled back in, her phone buzzed from beside her and she noticed Paul's name flash across the screen. She looked at him and he was inconspicuous, not even holding his phone.

 _If he asks who is responsible, that generally means he liked it._

A wave of relief passed over her. Though it wasn't confirmation by any means, it eased her up a bit at least. Now all she had to do was survive the rest of Raw, and she'd be alright.

XXXXXXXXXX

By the time Raw was finished, Eleanor had managed to stop being so nervous and actually enjoy the moment. She hadn't gotten any feedback from Vince, but she half expected that. Paul, Adam, Sara, and most of her other new co-workers had congratulated her on her successful first night and a job well done. They gathered in for a group photo, making Eleanor promise she'd frame it and hang it somewhere, as a memento of her first night as a producer of Monday Night Raw. In some ways, that gesture meant the world to Eleanor, much more than feedback (or lack thereof) from Vince McMahon.

As she prepared to leave, she found Rami lingering in the hallways, having a conversation with Claudio before noticing her. They were all traveling together to Tulsa, Oklahoma for Smackdown. When he noticed her, his face lit up. "Hey," he smiled at her. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's get going," she said, tugging her small suitcase behind her.

"How was your night?" Claudio asked her as the three made their way towards the parking lot.

Eleanor thought of the right words to say to such a question. "The most nerve-wracking but rewarding experience I've had with the company," she said.

Claudio and Rami couldn't help but smile at her choice of words. "What were you responsible for tonight?" Claudio asked again.

"The Cena and AJ Styles promo," Eleanor revealed.

Rami stopped walking for a brief second in disbelief. " _You_ did that?" he asked, clearly shocked she would get something so important on her first night. "Eleanor, that segment was amazing."

She couldn't help but blush. "Yeah, we had to re-write it all, too. What I got from the writers was hot garbage, so I went to Allen and John and came up with…well, that."

"Great job," Claudio offered his congratulations. The men loaded the suitcases into the trunk of the car, Rami assuming the driving responsibility. Rami let Eleanor take the front seat while he occupied the back, stretching out his legs. Eleanor punched the address of their hotel in Tulsa into the GPS and, in no time, they were on the road.

As the three settled into casual conversation, Eleanor felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She saw Paul's name flash across the screen.

- _Are you alone or with people? Can I call you?-_

Eleanor thought that to be an odd request. Usually he just called – hell, he had no problem calling her in the middle of the night sometimes.

*I'm in a car with Rami and Claudio. What's up?*

Paul didn't respond for what felt like ages. He always dropped bombs and then waited for people to squirm. Eleanor was convinced it was his favourite type of punishment.

- _Vince isn't too pleased that you did a re-write without consulting someone about it first.-_

Eleanor gulped, the hairs on the back of her neck rising in fear.

*I thought you said he liked it*

"Everything okay?" she heard Claudio ask, glancing at her briefly from the driver's seat.

"Yeah, it's just Paul," she said, brushing him off.

"Tell him you're not his assistant anymore. He can't keep calling you at asinine hours," Rami piped in from the back.

Eleanor laughed absent-mindedly as another text came through.

 _-He did like it. He just isn't pleased that a new producer wouldn't consult someone who's been doing this for years, esp for a promo with the company's top stars.-_

*So I over-asserted my position*

-Basically-

*What's my punishment?*

-That's for him to decide.-


	51. Chapter 51

_I'll be posting two chapters every week because I've finished writing the story – all the chapters are on my computer, waiting to be uploaded. I hope you all enjoy the last few chapters._

 _XXXXXXXXXX_

 _July 12, 2016_

"Oh how the tables have turned!" Rami exclaimed as he extended his hands out in front of him, blind to his surroundings. Much like he had put Eleanor in a blindfold to take her to the airport before the proposal, Eleanor had now blindfolded Rami to give him a surprise for his birthday. He was 32 years old today, and instead of spending it in Montreal like last year – like he would have preferred – he was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the last taped Smackdown.

"Stop it with the grabby hands," Eleanor warned, giggling as she did. "You're gonna reach out and grab my boobs."

"Oh please, cause I've never grabbed your boobs before," he said sarcastically.

"Rami!" Eleanor chastised him. "You with these comments. I don't understand."

"Listen, I liked it so I put a ring on it, and you said yes, so if you have a problem with it…" he joked, laughing as Eleanor slapped his shoulder lightly. "Come on! What's the surprise?"

The person in the room decided to capitalize on the mood of the conversation, motioning to Eleanor to have Rami grab him and feel around before the big reveal. "Uhh…you…you have to guess!" she smiled, grabbing his hands.

"Is it you in lingerie?"

"You wish," she rolled her eyes, motioning for the person to come forward. He walked until he crashed into Rami's outstretched hands. How he hadn't let out a giggle already was beyond Eleanor, as his face was red from holding it all in. One little squeak out of him and Rami would have known.

Rami had hope Eleanor was lying and was standing in front of him in some sort of getup. As he began to feel around he immediately felt uncomfortable – all he felt was some very defined abs, not boobs like he wanted. He furrowed his eyebrows, knowing that the set of abs could only belong to one person. "Fergalicious?!" he exclaimed, a giant smile on his face.

Eleanor covered her mouth in shock as Fergal began to cackle. Rami kept one hand on his abs as he used the other to whip off the blindfold. At the sight of Fergal, his smile grew. "Fergalicious! You're here!"

" _How_ on God's green Earth did you know it was him?!" Eleanor asked.

"Listen, ain't nobody _ever_ forget this pair of washboard abs," Rami said, standing up to hug Fergal. "What are you doing here?"

"The future Mrs. Sebai called me and ask me to pop out of a cake, but I thought this was better," Fergal smiled. "You can't spend your birthday away from your best man, can you?"

"Definitely not," Rami said, looking at Eleanor. "You organized this?"

"Of course I did," Eleanor smiled. "You two can spend the day together before the taping, then I'm taking you out for dinner."

Rami cocked his head to the side, moving to hug Eleanor. He would always been in awe of her thoughtfulness. "You're the best," he said as he kissed her temple.

"Aw, what a wife! What a wife!" Fergal clapped. "Hey Maple, want to come to the gym with us?"

"As much as I probably should I think I'm gonna pass. Nattie and I are meeting up, so you two can be alone," she said.

"Suit yourself," Fergal said, focusing his attention on Rami now. "Let's head out before the gym gets too busy. I want to spend as much alone time with you as possible before everyone's pulling you in every direction at the arena tonight."

"How sweet," Eleanor cooed, clutching her heart playfully. "You two are the perfect couple."

Fergal laughed. "I know we are! Maybe he should be marrying me instead!"

XXXXXXXXXX

 _July 16, 2016_

They'd been going at it for hours.

The producers, writers, and executives, that is. The meeting to determine the outcome of the WWE Draft was underway – and had been for hours – in Stamford, at the headquarters of the WWE. Vince sat at the head of the table, Stephanie and Shane on either end of him, with Paul beside Stephanie. Other executives, writers, and producers filled the rest of the seats. Vince was writing everything down, taking a lot into consideration. A lot of people were saying a lot of different things, bringing up a lot of good points, so he knew he had to. This draft was going to change the landscape of the WWE.

Eleanor had to keep her cool throughout the meeting thus far. She knew she had to calmly present her cases for certain superstars to be on a show, or else it would be thrown out the window. With an unknown end time to the meeting, she knew she would feel like she ran a marathon afterwards.

The questions posed during the meeting were certainly hard ones to answer. Various writers and producers had already gotten into near-screaming matches with each other. _"Do we think Ambrose is a big enough draw for Smackdown?" "We should anchor him with AJ!" "Where do we put John Cena?"_ Eleanor made sure to keep a list going of where everyone was probably going to end up, although they were all sworn to secrecy – Vince had already said that if any information on the decisions leaked before the big day, there would be severe consequences. This was one thing that wouldn't make its way to the dirt sheets.

They had just decided to have Ben be on Raw, when Vince brought up the next superstar. "Now…Sami Zayn," Vince looked over his sheets. "Staying on Raw?"

Adam was the first to pipe up. "I think so, sir. He's the one with the most potential right now. It's been a banner year for him. I'm sure you remember the Nakamura match earlier this year. PWI has released their list of the top 10 matches so far this year, and Sami's been in five of them."

"I think Smackdown is the show for him," Kevin Dunn commented. It took everything in Eleanor not to chuck her coffee at him. "We should put him there."

"He'll get lost of Smackdown," Adam rebuttled. "He won't be going up against AJ or Cena or Dean, not when they're all working programs together."

"So what?" Dunn retorted.

"He needs to remain a hot commodity," Adam said directly to Dunn. "He's too likely to be buried in meaningless matches on Smackdown."

Before Kevin Dunn could get another jab in, Eleanor decided to speak up. "He consistently works well with anyone, but particularly with Owens, Cesaro, Neville – two of whom we've already decided are going to Raw," she began. "He put on some great matches earlier in the year with Finn Balor in the UK as well. If the major WWE title is going to be on Smackdown and Raw won't have one for the time being, you'll need people to perform in amazing matches to make that title mean something. The guys have to be _fighting_ for it. Zayn can do that with anyone on the roster and make both of them look like a million bucks."

Vince was looking directly at her the entire time, up until the end of her speech when her throat went dry from his intimidating stare. "That's a good point," he said, almost to himself.

"And for that matter," Eleanor blurted out, really wanting to hammer her point home, "Zayn on the flagship show ensures we're keeping the attention of the key male 18-35 demographic. AJ, Dean, Ziggler – they bring that to Smackdown. Having Zayn, Balor, and Owens on Raw ensures we keep them on Monday nights too."

Kevin Dunn looked defeated. Vince looked impressed. "Zayn stays on Raw," he said definitively. "Let's move on to some NXT folk – who are we bringing up?"

XXXXXXXXXX

 _July 19, 2016_

"How the hell did you manage to pull that one off," Colby asked as he nestled into the backseat of Rami's car. Rami, Colby, Claudio, and Eleanor had all decided to carpool together – as they had been doing a lot recently – back to the hotel in Worcester for the night. Now that they knew their fates, they were a lot less antsy about the whole draft ordeal. They'd all be staying on Raw, thankfully, together.

"Well Vince didn't just come to me for advice," Eleanor said, shrugging her shoulders. "We had a marathon of a meeting about where to draft everybody."

"Really? What happened?" Claudio asked out of curiosity. He was in the passenger seat, looking back at Eleanor who was in the backseat with Colby.

"Oh, I'm sworn to secrecy on that one," Eleanor said.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. We were told that if anything got out, our heads would be on chopping blocks, and they definitely insinuated our jobs would be too," she said. "So seriously, I can't say a word. I don't want to lose my job after working so hard for it in the first place."

"That's cool," Colby said, understanding her predicament. "I'm just happy we're all together, with Ben and Fergal too. It's gonna be one hell of a wild ride."

"You bet it is," Rami said, smiling from the driver's seat. "Let's just hope there is no round two of the Infamous Incident in Iowa."

As the four arrived at the hotel and entered through the main lobby, Eleanor could hear Colby groan to himself. Claudio caught wind and looked over to where Colby had motioned with his head: they were trying to be inconspicuous, but some hard-core fans – stalkers, really – were waiting around in the lobby. There was no other reason for people to be standing around, at this hour, in a hotel lobby unless it was to get autographs or pictures.

"Are those fans?" Eleanor asked Colby, whispering so they wouldn't hear her.

"Just ignore them. I usually do," he whispered back to her.

Eleanor didn't particularly like that they were let in, seemingly without worry, to wait in the hotel lobby. There were a lot of wrestlers staying at the hotel. Any one of the fans/stalkers could see whichever floor they would go up to, or possibly even hear the concierge give them the room number and key. She grabbed Rami's hand as he stood behind Claudio, waiting his turn to check in and get their key. When he was done, he decided to wait for the whole group so they could ride the elevator together, and at least try to beat the stalkers together.

As Rami spoke to the concierge, one of the braver stalkers approached Claudio, asking him for a picture. Claudio didn't respond – he simple leaned in as little as possible while the guy held out his phone in front of them to snap a picture. From what Eleanor had heard about some international tours, where fans showed up at the airport, right outside of the gate, this was standard practice for the superstars. They were tired, jet-lagged, and in no mood to sign autographs – half of which would end up on eBay – or pose for pictures. The attitude of the superstars wasn't much different after a show, where they had just performed for thousands of people, after having to travel in the morning and train during the day.

"One always has to break the tension, then the rest follow," Colby said, watching everything discreetly.

Like clockwork, Eleanor saw as another man approached Claudio. "We could have a conversation so no-one approaches you," Eleanor said, giving him an out. "What's the worst place someone's ever approached you?" she asked.

"A urinal, for sure," Colby said immediately. "It was one of the most awkward moments of my life."

Eleanor couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah, I can see that. What did he want, a picture or something?"

"Of course," Colby said. "He said something like 'Hey man, after we get out of here, can we take a picture?' I was like no…that's not gonna happen."

An extra concierge appeared behind the desk to help Colby, cutting their conversation short. Eleanor looked over to Claudio to see him still being approached. She decided to walk over to him and try the same technique – start a conversation, avert the stalkers. It worked for the first bit, and Claudio seemed grateful that she was there. But soon, the stalkers didn't mind – more like didn't care – and continued to approach him, leaving him flabbergasted and her standing awkwardly, watching the encounters.

Once Rami and Colby were finished with their check-in, they walked towards Eleanor and Claudio. Rami told them to make their way to the elevators in quick French – Claudio did as he was told but Eleanor waited a bit, to get her rolling suitcase from Colby, who had been dragging it for her.

As she stood beside him, taking the suitcase, she felt someone behind her intrude into her personal space. Without blatantly shoving her out of the way, his force and determination meant that she was no longer next to Colby – pushed to the side as if she didn't even exist.

Colby caught this immediately, as Eleanor had put her elbow up to try and regain her personal space. "Dude, seriously?" she asked loudly.

"Can I get a picture, man?" he asked Colby, completely ignoring her.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Colby demanded. "Don't go shoving my friend!"

"I didn't shove her!" the fan tried to defend himself. "I didn't put my hands on her!"

"Don't even _think_ about it," Colby said as he saw the guy raise his hand with the camera in it. He put his arm around Eleanor to guide her away from the situation. "This is unbelievable. Let's go, Eleanor."

As Eleanor began walking away, she saw Rami practically power-walking towards her. He grabbed her hand and began to walk with her when another fan approached. "Hey man -"

"Not now man, we're tired and want to go to bed," Rami said, continuing to walk to the elevator.

"What the hell! All we want is some pictures!" the first guy shouted across the lobby as he watched Rami, Colby, and Eleanor walk into the elevator; Claudio had been holding the door open with his foot, half in, half out, shaking his head – he was ready to go and chastise any of the stalkers if need be.

"And all we want is for you not to shove our friends!" Colby barked out. "Go home!"

As the elevator doors closed the stalker huffed, "If that stupid chick wasn't with you you'd be taking pictures with us no problem."

Rami's head shot up at the comment. Claudio put his hand on his chest to hold him back – not that he needed to be restrained. Rami just shook his head angrily as the elevator doors finally closed, the fans left in the lobby.

"What a bunch of assholes," Rami said through gritted teeth. "I don't usually get upset by people like that, but that was beyond rude."

Colby looked at Eleanor. "Now you see what we go through," he said. "I mean, you're famous too, but I bet this doesn't happen to you."

Eleanor shook her head. "I'm a different kind of famous, if you really want to go there. Nobody wants my autograph, but some photographers can be awful. I can tell you that some are hell-bent on getting up-skirt pictures, and will go to whatever lengths to get them so they can make a pretty penny," she said."

Colby and Claudio's eyebrows rose. "That's disgusting," Claudio said.

"That's awful that you have to go through that," Colby commented.

"It's all part of the game," she said. "I grew up learning how to play it. I've beaten all the levels now. And trust me, you guys seem to be playing it just fine."


	52. Chapter 52

_July 24, 2016_

55 days to go.

The nikkah dress was on its way. Her wedding dress was nearly done. The menu had been finalized. Margot was measured for her Maid of Honour dress, and Fergal for his tux. Rami's mom was still fretting over which exact food she was going to prepare for the nikkah, even though everyone knew it would probably be the best food they'd have all weekend. Margot and Jean-Philippe, along with Hamed and Samantha, had taken Maryam, Ali, Henri, Rosaline and Elodie to get fitted for their dresses and suits. Henri had asked if he could wear a Montreal Canadiens shirt underneath his tuxedo; Rami said yes, Eleanor said no. Eleanor had a feeling he'd wear it anyway.

Now in Washington DC for Battleground, Eleanor couldn't help but feel stressed, now that the wedding was coming down to the wire and SummerSlam season was beginning simultaneously. The producers had been briefed in the production meeting about what was to happen during the pay-per-view. Vince hadn't given Eleanor any particular responsibility, so she assumed that she would just work with Adam or Sara like she usually did. Sara was producing the women's match, so Eleanor latched on to her.

That is, until, the meeting ended. As everybody gathered their things to leave, Vince called out to Eleanor. "Can you stay back, please? I need to speak with you. Adam, you too."

She and Adam both looked at each other, standing in their spots as everyone filtered out of the room. Sara gave her one last look before shutting the door behind her, motioning for Eleanor to text her.

As Eleanor and Adam approached Vince, he looked directly at her until she was at his side. He stood up from his seat and smiled. "You're responsible for the Zayn and Owens match tonight," he announced.

Eleanor's mouth gaped open. She stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Adam looked between her and Vince, more so at Vince, like he was crazy. "Sir…" Eleanor sputtered out. "I…I - "

"Vince, she can't be involved with the Zayn/Owens angle," Adam intervened on her behalf. "She's engaged to Zayn. It's a conflict of interest."

Vince shrugged his shoulders. "We'll suspend that for now," he said nonchalantly, looking at Eleanor again. "I want you to produce the match tonight. You _clearly_ want people to be talking about you and your work. Plus, you managed a complete re-write and production of a Styles and Cena promo, surely you can do a Zayn and Owens match."

Eleanor felt like Andie in the Devil Wears Prada after Miranda Priestley asks her to get the twins the new, unpublished Harry Potter manuscript. She realized now that this was her punishment for that incident, from June. He was doing this to her to put her in line, in his own cruel and twisted way. She knew that if the match went well, people would say it only went well because Rami was her fiancé and she wouldn't make her fiancé look bad - favouritism; if the match was bad, people would start to question her ability as a producer and why Paul would hire her as a producer in the first place – favouritism gone wrong. It was a double-edged sword. She hated it.

Eleanor gulped as Vince continued to smile at her. "Okay, Mr. McMahon," she practically squeaked out.

"Let's make it good, alright?" he asked, patting her on the shoulder before walking away. "I hear they always steal the show. Let's see if they can."

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor was frantic as she made her way through backstage to one of the male wrestler's locker rooms. Vince had left abruptly after his little stunt, asking Adam to come with him, leaving her to figure things out. She knew she had to find Rami and Kevin to find out any details of the match. If Vince has been calculating this punishment since June 6th, then he really knew how to get under her skin and make her a nervous wreck.

She knocked cautiously on the locker room door, opening it after the voice in the room said it was clear. She found Kevin sitting on a bench, on his phone.

"Is Rami here?" she asked Kevin.

"He's just changing," he informed her, noticing her nervous state. "What's wrong? You seem upset."

"He's setting me up to fail."

"Rami?"

"Vince!" Eleanor clarified. "He's making me produce your match tonight even though it's a conflict of interest!" she revealed.

Kevin's eyes went wide. "Wait…he's making you responsible for the match?"

Eleanor nodded her head emphatically. "Why the fuck does this have to happen to me?" she asked, sitting down beside him and burying her head in her hands.

"Hey, hey, calm down, it's okay," Kevin assured her. "We got this, it's okay. We'll make you look good."

"I don't know why he's doing this to me," Eleanor bemoaned. "I think he's punishing me because I re-wrote a promo on my first night without telling him. I went behind their backs to do it and now I'm fucked because if it goes well then people start talking about Rami, if it goes bad then people start talking about me and -"

"Eleanor-"

"I don't think he wants me as a producer. I mean, it's clear now. And I don't blame him. I don't know a thing -"

"Stop it," Kevin said sternly. "Stop selling yourself short. You've made leaps and bounds from when you started to now. You can do this."

"You really think so?"

Kevin gave her a look, cocking his head to the side. "You forget who you're working with, Eleanor. Rami and I have been going at it for years. We know what we're doing. We know how to make a match look good."

She began to calm down after hearing Kevin's words. "I'm going to need to stay and get notes on your match."

"Then you'll see how much of a genius your boyfriend is. He's been calling all of our matches since we started in Quebec."

That revelation caused Eleanor to smile slightly. "Really?"

"I'm serious. I dread doing matches with other people because I know they're not as good as him and I have to work it out. But even I'm not as good as him so it never as good as I want it to be."

Kevin nodded his head as he finished the sentence, motioning for Eleanor to look behind her. Rami appeared in his gear and one of his t-shirts, clutching his hat and jacket. He looked thoroughly surprised that she was in the room. Usually, by this point in the night, she was working and doing her own thing in production. "What are you doing back here?" he asked.

"I'm producing your match tonight," she said.

"Are you even allowed to do that? That's a huge conflict on interest, isn't it?"

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. "Vince told me I had to do it. He said if I could re-write a Cena and Styles promo, I could do this no problem. I have a feeling it's my punishment," she mused.

Rami shook his head at the news. This wasn't a punishment as much as it was an initiation, he thought at least. He wondered if Vince had really called for this personally, or if one of the other producers was in his ear for weeks, putting him up to it. Regardless, he was going to help Eleanor knock it out of the ballpark. "Well, your punishment is going to be you producing the best match of the night," Rami said confidently, pulling up a chair. "Kev, this is what I've been thinking…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Sara was confident that Eleanor could produce the Zayn/Owens segment. When it came time for the match, she watched as Eleanor took control of the situation, calling certain camera angles and making sure to talk directly to the referee to call certain spots.

The fans absolutely loved it. They couldn't get enough of what was going on in the ring. Even Eleanor's fellow colleagues were making comments on how great the match was and how the fans were responding. When the fans started to rise, giving the two men a standing ovation before the match was even over, Eleanor knew she had it in the bag.

Then came the end. Eleanor knew about the two Helluva Kicks Rami would give to Kevin, and they had all agreed that Rami would pause, pull a face, and have Eleanor zoom in before the kick. As the two men set up the spot, she called out to the camera to be ready. Everything went off without a hitch, and every camera angle was great.

When the match ended, virtually everyone in production wiped the sweat off their brow. Someone joked that they needed a cigarette. Paul was whispering back and forth with Michael Hayes before he got up and stared at Eleanor. "You. You're coming with me."

Without having much of a choice, she stood up quickly and followed Paul out of production. Paul opened the door and Eleanor noticed Arn Anderson was right on the other side of the door. When he noticed Paul, he stopped him. "Who was responsible for that?" he asked.

Paul pointed at Eleanor, who stayed silent. Arn's eyebrows rose at the revelation. "You should be extremely proud of yourself," he extended his hand to shake hers. "That was flawless. That zoom in on Zayn's face before the kick told me more about his character than the last two months of TV."

"Thank you," a giant smile overtook Eleanor's face. She was trying to remain calm and neutral, but to have Arn Anderson – one of the most respected minds backstage – compliment you on your work…well, that was cause for a smile.

"This is the kind of stuff you brag about," Arn joked. "And don't be shy about it. You deserve the bragging rights."

"Thanks," Eleanor repeated. "That means a lot coming from you."

"Thanks Arn," Paul smiled, grabbing Eleanor's elbow lightly. "Come on Eleanor, let's go."

Leaving Arn, Paul and Eleanor continued to walk backstage. Paul stayed quiet the entire time, making Eleanor nervous. "Where are you bringing me?" she decided to ask.

"To see your fiancé," Paul said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"How do you think I did?" she asked again, admittedly a little scare of the response she'd get from him.

Paul looked over at her with a serious look on his face. "I'd say you produced the match of the night, and we still have the Shield triple threat," he said. "Arn is right. When we get out there and people start asking, my fingers are going to be pointing to you. And I'm telling you right now, you've gotta soak it up. Don't be humble. You tell everyone it was all on you. They'll be begging to have you produce their next match."

"Wow, Paul," Eleanor was at a loss for words. "What about Vince?"

Paul shrugged his shoulders. "If he didn't like it he's lost his damn mind."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Vince wants to see you."

Rami was exhausted from his match and all Eleanor wanted to do was drive him back to the hotel so he could sleep. Upon hearing that Vince wanted to see her, those plans were now in the trash. Adam gave her a sympathetic look as he told her the news.

She looked over to Rami and it looked like he was about to fall asleep standing up. "You go with Claudio. I'll catch a cab back to the hotel," she told him. She didn't want him or Claudio waiting for her by any means, especially not when he was this tired.

"You sure? I can wait," he said, his voice groggy.

"No way," Eleanor shook her head. "Go with Claudio. I'll be there soon."

Rami wasn't in the mood or the frame of mind to argue, so he simply nodded his head and began to walk towards a waiting Claudio. Eleanor began to walk the opposite way, back into the building, to see what Vince wanted from her.

Vince got what he wanted. When Rami and Kevin got back in from their match, everybody was clapping for them. Eleanor kept a safe distance because she knew – and wanted – it to be all about them. They looked so happy and proud that their peers were congratulating them. Even though they had done this countless times before, each match brought something new out of them. It was all a great moment until Eleanor began to hear the whispers.

' _Of course it turned out to be match of the night – look who was responsible for it.'_

' _Did you really think she'd let Rami play second fiddle?'_

' _She's acting like she's going to take over the company…who does she think she is?'_

' _Paul Heyman guy? More like Paul Levesque girl. It's so transparent why she got the job.'_

She knew she had to stay quiet, for the sake of Rami. If she said anything, she knew it would spiral out of control.

She knocked on Vince's office door, waiting for him to let her in. When she got the cue, she stood in the doorway hesitantly. "Mr. McMahon, you wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Sit," he motioned to the only other chair in the room. Eleanor walked over and took a seat, gripping on to the armrests nervously. Had she overstepped her producing boundaries again? Was she getting fired? She couldn't help but assume the worst.

Vince cleared his throat before he spoke. "Job well done tonight," he said plainly, no real emotion in his voice. "My son-in-law was right about you being an asset to the company."

Eleanor tried to keep her cool, nodding her head once in acknowledgement. "Thank you, sir."

"You rose to the occasion. Keep up the good work, Eleanor. But you'll never be working a Zayn and Owens match again."

Eleanor couldn't help but smile. "That's understandable, sir."

"And don't even _think_ about rewriting something until you've approached someone else first," he said firmly. "You've proved what you're capable of tonight, but you're still a new producer."

"Yes, sir."

"Did Zayn already leave?" he asked. Eleanor nodded her head. "Without you?"

"He was ready to fall asleep standing up. I told him I'd catch a cab back because I didn't know how long this was going to take," Eleanor clarified.

Vince nodded his head in understanding. "Pass along the message, will you? I really enjoyed the match tonight."

"Will do, sir. Thank you."


	53. Chapter 53

_August 5, 2016_

43 days to go.

Back in Montreal for the weekend, Eleanor and Rami had been spending time with their families, finalizing some decisions for the wedding. The major thing to start working on was the seating arrangements – response cards had started to flood in from their guests, and Eleanor wanted to organize all the seating sooner rather than later.

Rami's family wasn't the problem – at least not to Eleanor. Neither was most of hers. Nobody was fighting for any stupid reasons, or not talking to one another – that part was easy. Even the more high-profile guests, and the guests of her parents, such as the Prime Minister, the Earl Spencer, and other British aristocracy members, were fine. It was seating the wrestlers. There was the issue of CM Punk – he was on bad terms with a lot of people, especially with Paul and Stephanie, so he couldn't be seated anywhere near them – Eleanor made sure their tables were on the opposite ends of the room. She got so frustrated, trying to fit him and April in somewhere, that she made Rami call him and ask if it was okay if he and April sat with Nattie, TJ, and Claudio, and Chris Spradlin – he was perfectly fine with that, thankfully.

After a marathon of a morning with Charles, Catherine, Eleanor, and Rami all organizing the guest list and tables, Catherine and Eleanor decided to break for lunch and go visit Margot at her law office. Charles and Rami decided to stay home and make themselves a light lunch, before they all decided to go out for dinner later on.

When the women left, Charles and Rami convened in the kitchen, taking out some bread and deli meats, making themselves some hearty sandwiches and a salad for lunch. They continued a healthy conversation throughout the meal, talking about the wedding, Rami and Eleanor's travels, and more. When they finished, they brought their plates to the sink for a rinse before putting them in the dishwasher.

"By the way, I wanted to ask you something," Rami said as he put his plate in the sink.

"What's that?"

"I wanted to ask you if you know of any real estate agents," Rami said.

"Why would you need a real estate agent, Rami?" Charles asked.

"Well, with Eleanor and I getting married soon, we'll need somewhere to settle down. We'll need to start looking at places," Rami explained.

Charles looked at him like he had three heads. "Rami, you _have_ a house."

"In Orlando. But we both want to settle in Montreal, obviously."

"No…Rami…" Charles shook his head, smiling. "Rami, come with me."

"Huh?" Rami asked, following Charles blindly. "Where are we going?"

"Let's take the Aston Martin, huh?" Charles looked behind him, smiling at Rami. "It's such a beautiful day outside."

Rami got in the car without question; waiting patiently as the garage door opened and Charles began driving. Rami had never been in a car as expensive as this, and Charles was treating it as casually as possible. Charles didn't go on any major roads – he didn't even make any turns. All he did was drive about four blocks away from his house before he started to slow down, pulling into a driveway of a house.

"Rami, this is going to be your house," he said, watching as Rami's eyes widened as he took in the beautiful, old Edwardian mansion.

Rami's mouth gaped open. "Charles…"

"Let's go take a look," Charles smiled, getting out of the car. Rami, again, followed blindly as Charles made his way to the front door, punching some numbers into the electronic padlock on the door.

The two men walked into the grand foyer. Rami was taken aback by the sheer size of it all. It definitely wasn't as big as the Desjardins house, or even Jean-Philippe or Margot's house, but it was still a mansion. "Charles…" Rami said, speechless at what he was looking at. "I can't…I can't take -"

"It's not a big deal, Rami," Charles interrupted him, knowing exactly what he was going to say. "This house has been in the family forever – almost as long as the old house," he explained. "My father's sister – my aunt Beatrice, lived here with her family."

"Does Eleanor know?" Rami asked.

"Yeah, Eleanor has an idea," Charles said. "The reason she's not fretting about buying a house is because she knows we own so many."

Rami didn't respond as he kept looking around him, imagining the sheer size and contents of the house. They were only in the foyer and he was already blown away. Never in a million years did he think he'd be living in something like this – not when he grew up sharing a bedroom with his brothers. He shook his head. "Charles…"

"Think of it as a wedding present, Rami. It's the perfect place to raise a family. Jean-Philippe and Margot are two blocks south, Catherine and I are four blocks west. It's the perfect place to raise a family," Charles was selling Rami the house, as if it needed to be sold. "Let's take a look around, Rami. It's a bit dated – definitely needs updating – but the specs are good. You and Eleanor will pick what you like and I'll oversee the reno while you're traveling."

Rami followed Charles throughout the house, taking in all it's nooks and crevices, its rooms and hallways; its living room, dining room, massive eat-in kitchen with butler's pantry, oak-panelled library, mudroom, family room, den, and sunroom on the ground floor; it's five bedrooms, all with ensuite bathrooms; its basement, with an in-law suite, wine cellar, rec room, and space for a personal gym, or theatre room, or whatever Rami's heart desired.

Rami, needless to say, was overwhelmed by the house. He couldn't believe that Charles would be so generous. He could easily lease the house to another couple, who would probably pay a pretty penny in rent, but instead he was willingly giving it to Eleanor and Rami as a gift. Rami didn't know if he could ever let Charles know how much that meant to him.

When they finished the house tour, the men found themselves back in the kitchen. Charles could tell Rami was overwhelmed. "Let's sit and have a drink," Charles suggested, going to the fridge and retrieving a beer for himself and a bottle of water for Rami.

Rami couldn't help but laugh as Charles cracked open the beer. "You keep this place stacked?"

Charles smiled. "Everybody needs to get away once in a while. C'mon, let's go out on the terrace."

Charles led Rami through the wide double doors, leading him to the large, secluded terrace filled with trees. Charles pulled up a chair and Rami sat beside him, taking a sip of his water. The two men sat together in silence for a couple of minutes, admiring the view in front of them. "Is it safe to assume you've never imagined this for yourself?" Charles asked, his voice soft and sincere.

Rami shook his head. "A bungalow in Laval was my goal," he smiled to himself. "I never considered Westmount. Never even _thought_ of considering Westmount."

"Are you still uncomfortable with all of this?" Charles asked. "And be honest. The more I know, the more I can help."

"Uncomfortable is the wrong word," Rami began. "I'm just not used to it – obviously – and I forget. If I met you outside these circumstances I would have never known or even guessed you're a multi-billion dollar property magnate, but then you say things like 'Let's go take a ride in my Aston Martin' or 'Here's an entire mansion as a wedding gift' and then I remember." He looked at Charles, who was staring at him intently. "Like I'm not trying to tell you to curb it with that sort of stuff – you can do whatever you want – it's just…it's not normal for me. You and I, we have different normals. And now that I'm marrying in to your family, that's going to be my normal. But I don't think it'll ever be normal for me…if that makes sense."

Charles nodded his head in understanding. "I get it Rami. I do. The best piece of advice I can give you is to give as much as you receive," Charles said. "I know it's a lot to take in. I know. You can have anything your heart desires – anything in the world, because of our wealth. But with our wealth comes immense privilege. You have the opportunity to change the lives of a lot of people. You have the opportunity to _influence_ other people into helping to change other people's lives. You've got to take advantage of that more than anything. It's a bit impractical for you now, now that you're travelling. But it can always be done."

XXXXXXXXXX

 _August 8, 2016_

"So how's everything been going?" Paul asked Eleanor as they sat alone in a boardroom together, backstage at the Honda Centre in Anaheim. "How are you settling into production?"

"It's been pretty good," Eleanor said, taking a sip of her coffee. "I get along with Adam and Sara really well, which is good. But I can tell there are people who resent me being in there."

"Ignore 'em."

"Easier said that done," Eleanor mused.

"Have you gone over the production notes for tonight?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I have," Eleanor said. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask…where is Rami's match or program for SummerSlam? Adam and Sara couldn't tell me. And I couldn't help but notice he's not booked tonight."

Paul shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Eleanor brought up Rami. "Uhh…we're not 100% sure yet," Paul admitted, knowing Eleanor would get angry. "Creative has nothing for him."

Eleanor pursed her lips in anger. " _Creative has nothing for him?_ " she repeated as a question with contempt. "He just came out of a match of the year with Kevin at Battleground and creative has nothing for him?" she demanded.

"I'll see what the writers are cooking up for him," Paul offered, hoping that would calm her down.

"Tell them they better think of something," she said. "Give him a broom. Give him a blow up doll. Make it a triple threat – he'll get a four star match out of them. He's a match of the year factory, Paul, and you know it."

"He's also your fiancé."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Paul sighed. "It means that of course you'd be advocating for him to have a match. Sheamus isn't on the card yet either, but I don't hear you complaining about that."

" _Paul_."

"I have to remain impartial, Eleanor. If there's nothing I can do there's nothing I can do," Paul said.

"But you can at least admit this predicament is garbage," she offered.

Paul cocked his head to the side, acknowledging her statement, but not wanting to say anything out loud. "By the way…Steph wants to know what she has to wear for the wedding," he mentioned, changing the subject again.

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh at the turn the conversation had taken. "She can wear anything she wants besides white."

"Burgundy is okay?"

"Burgundy is fine."

"She won't match the décor?"

Eleanor snorted. "No, she will not match the décor."

"Alright, alright," Paul said, smiling. "I'll let you go. Please don't freak out anymore about Rami not having a match right now. I'll see what happens."

Eleanor gathered her things and followed Paul out of the room, intent on finding Sara or Adam to start discussing their work tonight. Instead of finding them, she happened upon Rami, of course, just as she had heard the worst news about him. He was leaning against the wall, talking to Colby, who was scheduled for a promo tonight. When he saw her his eyes lit up, and he nodded his head once so Colby would turn around and see her too.

"What's crackin', Eleanor?" Colby asked.

"Have you gone over your promo tonight?" she asked.

"I've skimmed over it. Are you producing?"

Eleanor shook her head. "No. It'll be a long time until I get to produce you," she said.

With that response, Rami knew she was mad about something. He wondered if he should even ask his question, but decided to do it anyway. "What's in store for me tonight?" he asked.

Eleanor noticed he already had his gear on, and it killed her inside knowing that she had to be the one to tell him now. She was not in the mood, and to have to do this to her own fiancé angered her more than anything. "You're not booked tonight," she said, her voice quiet.

Rami looked taken aback. "Seriously? Not even for a promo?" he asked. Eleanor shook her head. "Oh…okay" he said, the defeat clearly evident in his voice.

"Dude, that's bullshit," Colby made his thoughts heard. "How's he gonna build a program going into SummerSlam?"

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me," she said, not wanting to reveal that the writers didn't have anything for him. She knew it would crush Rami if he found out. "I'm gonna go ask around, see what's being done," she said. "I'll see you two after the show."

Eleanor left abruptly, not wanting Rami or Colby to see her get emotional. The look on Rami's face when he found out he wasn't booked for the night absolutely killed her. He looked so defeated, so left out. She'd be damned if he was left off of SummerSlam.


	54. Chapter 54

_August 21, 2016: SummerSlam_

27 days to go.

"You ready to do this?" Eleanor asked Rami as he warmed up near Gorilla.

"I was booooorn ready," Rami said, shaking out his neck.

"I know it's not what you imagined, but at least it's something," Eleanor mused. At the last minute, Rami and Ben had been placed in a tag-team match against the Dudley Boys, whose contracts were expiring and were set to retire, on the pre-show of SummerSlam. Eleanor liked to think the outcry from the fans had something to do with it. A lot of fans were upset that the likes of Rami and Claudio weren't on the card, and they were being very vocal about it. The writers scrambled to include them in something, _anything_ , and eventually they came up with the pre-show.

Rami shrugged his shoulders. "At least I'm here. I could have been watching from my couch in Orlando or Montreal," he mused.

Eleanor smiled slightly. Even in a less-than-stellar predicament, he saw the good in it. It was one of the things she loved most about him. She looked past Rami's shoulder to see Ben walking towards him. "I'll leave you to it," she said. "I'll see you sometime after the show."

She stood on her tippy-toes to give him a quick kiss, focusing her attention on Ben. "Where's Natalie?" she asked.

"Waiting for you in catering. She knows your call time is when SummerSlam starts so she wants to catch up with you before that," Ben informed her.

Eleanor nodded her head, looking back at the two men one last time. "Don't injure yourselves. You have a wedding to attend in less than a month."

XXXXXXXXXX

"We should go back to Madison Square Garden," Eleanor mused, hearing the fans chant another asinine chant during the Balor/Rollins championship match. She felt like crumpling up every paper she had in front of her and throwing it at the monitors. She only said it loud enough for Sara and Adam to hear. They weren't producing the match, so they were all ears.

"It could always be worse," Sara said.

"Jesus, and we're going to have to deal with them tomorrow night too," Eleanor continued.

"Don't change your producing principles on a crowd," Adam gave her a word of advice. "Power through it."

"I feel horrible for Colby and Fergal right now," Eleanor said. "How long have the fans been wanting something like this? And now they're just shitting on it. I don't understand."

"If you try and understand wrestling fans you're going to drive yourself nuts," Adam said. "Don't even bother. I can make Stone Cold the champion again and they'll find something to complain about."

He was right; they'd find the time and energy to complain about anything. She pursed her lips as she looked back at the monitor, watching the match unfold. Both men were on their A game, despite the crowd reaction. As a producer, that's all Eleanor could ever hope for. She knew if she was the one producing this match that she wouldn't want either man giving in to the crowd. They needed to focus on putting on the match of the night, although the award probably already went to John and Allen.

When the match was over and Fergal was crowned the new Universal Champion, Eleanor was dismissed from production in order to go check on him, since she had already done her duty with The New Day/The Club match. Taking her headset with her, she wandered through backstage looking for a sign of Fergal. Instead of finding Fergal, she happened upon Eric, who was watching the show on a TV screen backstage.

"Hey Eric, have you seen Fergal?" she asked.

"Yeah, I saw him," Eric said. "He went that way," he pointed in the general direction. "With one of the doctors."

Eleanor's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. "He was with a doctor?" she asked, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"Yeah. He was limping and stuff but that's to be expected. Don't know if anything else is wrong. I didn't hear him complaining about anything."

"Thanks Eric," she said quickly, dismissing him and walking towards where Eric pointed, which, of course, just so happened to be the medical rooms. She heard a lot of commotion coming out of one, and she could only assume that was the one Fergal was in.

She knocked loudly, twice and quickly, before calling out "It's Eleanor from production," so they'd let her in. When she walked in she was greeted with Fergal on a gurney. The all too familiar scene brought up too many bad memories. She hated to see any of the superstars injured, let alone her best friends. She walked over to him immediately. "Are you hurting?"

"Nah, I'm good," Fergal said through gritted teeth.

"Fergal, don't lie to me," Eleanor said sternly.

Fergal was huffing and puffing, trying to hide the pain. He looked at Eleanor, shaking his head as he saw the concern on her face. "It's nothing."

" _Fergal_."

The physiotherapist put their hand on his shoulder, and that's when he winced and flinched at the physiotherapist's touch. At Eleanor's realization that it was Fergal's shoulder that was injured, just like Rami's shoulder had been, she buried her head in her hands. His debut on the main roster, his inaugural championship reign, was going to be cut off before things could even start to get going. "It's nothing bad. It doesn't hurt that bad," he said, trying to convince himself more than anything.

"Fergal, it's your _shoulder_ ," Eleanor said. "When did you hurt it?" Fergal stayed silent. "Fergal, I swear to God, if you don't start talking-"

"When he powerbombed me on the barricade, it dislocated," Fergal revealed. "I popped it back in myself."

Eleanor physically cringed at the thought. She could never imagine popping her shoulder back in its socket just seconds after popping it out. "Jesus Christ Fergal!" she whispered harshly. "And you finished the fucking match like that?!"

"We weren't going to make the match short!" he tried to reason with her.

"Oh my _God_ , this isn't happening right now," Eleanor shook her head.

She watched as the doctor and physiotherapists attended to him. She watched how he winced in pain, gave the physiotherapists the evil eyes when they kept touching the shoulder that hurt, gritted his teeth to mask a grunt of pain. Eleanor promised herself she wouldn't get emotional, but it was proving to be very hard.

As the physiotherapists calmed down and one even left the room, Fergal raised his head to look at her. "Hey, Eleanor," he said, his voice low.

"Yeah?"

"Can you get my mom and dad?" he asked, his voice quivering slightly. "Please?"

"Yeah, of course," Eleanor said, putting her hand on his good shoulder. "Everything's gonna be alright."

"Yeah," he said, not convinced at all. "I just really want to see them."

Eleanor left the room before she could burst into tears, and continued to put on her brave face as she spoke to a runner to retrieve Fergal's parents from the crowd and bring them to her. In the time that she was alone, she connected her headset back to production. "Hey, it's Eleanor here," she said, not sure whom she was going to get on the other end.

"What's up, Eleanor?" she heard Sara's voice on the other end.

"Uh…is Paul there?"

"Yeah."

"Can you tell him Fergal's with the medics right now…and that he dislocated his shoulder during the match…"

"Oh, _shit_ ," Sara muttered. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for a runner to get his parents out of the crowd. He wants to see them."

"Okay. Paul's busy right now but I'm going to let him know. He'll probably see you near the medical rooms."

"Alright, thanks," Eleanor said, seeing the runner walking up the aisle with Fergal's mom and dad. "I have to go. I'll see you later."

"Hi, Eleanor!" Fergal's dad smiled widely as he saw her. "Fancy seeing you here, love."

"Are you having a good night so far?" his mom asked.

"Yeah, it's been grand," Eleanor half-smiled. "Listen…" she began, unable to look at either of them directly. "Fergal's in the back. He asked me to get you."

His mom's face suddenly dropped at the news. "Oh dear," she said, looking over at her husband, who also had a serious look on his face. Mother's intuition knew best. "He's hurt, isn't he?"

XXXXXXXXXX

 _August 22, 2016_

"You know…it's okay if you want to throw something against a wall."

The room had been eerily silent, too eerily silent, and Eleanor felt the need to break that silence. She had accompanied Fergal to his MRI earlier in the day. He'd had to wear a sling leaving the arena. He'd put up a good face for Good Morning America in Manhattan, but she could tell he was in pain. The WWE scheduled an emergency MRI for him in a New York hospital and, of course, it showed the worst possible outcome. A torn labrum, requiring surgery. He'd be out at least six months. He'd need to forfeit the title he'd won only last night.

Fergal looked at Eleanor, his entire mind and body utterly defeated at the news. "What good is that gonna do?" he asked. "I could throw something and dislocate my other shoulder."

Eleanor took a deep breath in. He was in the first stage of injury: anger. She'd experienced it with Rami. She'd experienced it with Claudio. Now she was experiencing it with Fergal. "It's good to let it all out," she tried to explain. "It's going to be tough for a long time. But that time will pass. And you'll get better."

"I guess you have that experience with Rami, huh?" Fergal said. "What makes you think my situation is anything like his?"

"Because you're saying the exact same things he did," Eleanor deadpanned. "I'm not pretending to be an expert. I'm just saying it's alright to be angry. It's alright to be upset, and depressed, and wish this whole thing would just end. But you're gonna get better, and you're gonna power through this."

Fergal licked his lips, looking at the floor. He shook his head slightly, almost to himself. "I don't mean to be…I mean I know…I know you've gone through this before. But do you know how disheartening it is to work for almost fifteen years to get to this point, and then when you get to this point, you get injured?"

"Yeah, I do. Because the same thing happened to Rami," Eleanor said. Fergal finally looked at her. "Listen Fergal, I don't understand it on a personal level – I'm not a wrestler. I understand it as the spouse, the significant other. But Rami knows exactly what you're going through. And you know he's here to help you, and I am too. He and I are the closest thing you have to a family in North America, and we're going to be here for you every step of the way."

It was at that statement when Fergal finally shed a tear. Eleanor was right – with his parents reluctantly leaving early that morning for Ireland, his friends were all he had left. Rami, Eleanor, Matt Bloom, Chad and his family – they would give him the support he'd need. "Thank you," he said, leaning in for a hug. Eleanor responded readily yet cautiously, making sure not to hurt him. When they pulled apart, he wiped his tears away with his thumb. "You gonna get mad at me if I'm wearing an ugly sling at your wedding?"

Eleanor snorted. "That's the last thing on my mind right now. You could be wearing a full body cast for all I care. It doesn't change the fact that you're the best man."

XXXXXXXXXX

 _August 23, 2016_

Rami shifted uncomfortably in his seat. To be on the other side, _waiting_ for one of his best friends in surgery to come out, was absolutely daunting. He didn't know how Eleanor could have done this when he had his surgery. He was an absolute mess mentally; he could have only imagined her, waiting for her boyfriend.

He squeezed her hand tightly to get her attention as they waited outside for the doctor. She looked over at him, taken away briefly by the magazine she was skimming from the supply in the waiting room. "I don't know how you did this," he said, shaking his head. "I'm a wreck. I don't know how much longer I'm gonna last. How did you do this for me?"

"I was a wreck too, Rami. It wasn't like I was peachy keen, waiting for my boyfriend having shoulder surgery," she admitted.

"How did you do it?"

Eleanor leaned in to Rami, throwing her arm around his shoulders and pulling him close to her. "Think about how amazing the doctors are that are operating on him – they're the same ones that operated on you," she said, stroking his hair. "Think about how much you love him, how much you're going to help him through this. He's going to be leaning on you a lot, since you went through the exact same thing. You're going to be helping him more than anyone else."

Rami nodded his head at everything Eleanor was saying. "As if I didn't respect you already, I have this giant newfound respect for you," he smiled. "You're the best."

Before she could say anything else, Eleanor noticed the doors open and the lead surgeon, Dr. Dougas, make his way to the waiting area. She nodded her head towards him so Rami would look. When Rami saw him, he stood up immediately, along with Eleanor.

"Ms. Desjardins, this seems to be like routine for you," he said, smiling at her.

"How is he, doc?" Rami asked, wanting to know the state of his best friend immediately.

"He's doing fine. The surgery was successful," the doctor informed them. "You can go see him if you'd like."

"Will he be on a happy high like Rami was?" Eleanor asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oooooh yes," Dr. Dougas laughed. "Come with me."

Rami grabbed Eleanor's hand as they made their way to the room. I wonder how thick his Irish accent is going to be," Eleanor mused.

"We're gonna barely understand him," Rami said. "When he's drunk he starts calling me Irish nicknames, and I have no idea if they're offensive or not."


	55. Chapter 55

_To the individual (or individuals) who comment as a "Guest" and keeps deciding to leave overly sarcastic and demeaning comments about my story and its characters, specifically Eleanor: I understand that you may be upset with some of the storylines and turn of events in my story, but is there anything you actually do like about what you're reading? You seem to only say negative things – which is fine, I can take the criticism – but I genuinely wonder if there's anything you actually like or if you're just "hate-reading" the story at this point. If you're "hate-reading", you're wasting your time. Find a story you actually like! Do you like Seth Rollins stories? CM Punk? Roman Reigns? There are some extremely talented authors writing stories on this website. You will be a lot happier and maybe even leave a positive comment on it :)_

 _And not for anything, but in context to your last comment, I find it incredibly sexist that you complain that Rami at some point should "be a man" and provide for Eleanor and their future family. What does it mean to "be a man"? Please tell me. There's nothing wrong with a woman providing for her family, old money or not. In case you haven't noticed, Rami doesn't have any qualms with this – he's uncomfortable, but he understands his situation (unlike you) and respects it. It's not "PATHETIC" (capitalization yours). The money Rami earns from the WWE can provide in other ways, which you may or may not read about if you decide to keep "hate-reading" the one-shots I have planned for their future._

 _I'm not sure what are you trying to achieve exactly by berating my characters and how I've written them. You can do whatever you like, but please know your comments have no effect on my confidence in my writing, how I write my characters and their development, and how I write my stories._

 _And no, nobody gets sick of Saint Eleanor "sticking her face in everywhere all the time". She's doing her job._

 _/end rant_

 _As for this chapter – I've never been to a nikkah but I've researched what happens in one, and this seemed to be the general consensus. For those of you who have been to one, or have had one yourself, I'm sorry if I got anything wrong!_

 _Also, I'm sad to announce this is the penultimate chapter! Only one more to go :(_

XXXXXXXXXX

 _September 16, 2016_

One day to go.

"You ready to fuckin' do this, mate?" Fergal asked as he approached Rami from the arrivals section of Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, hugging him tightly with his one good arm.

Rami laughed. "You have no idea. I've been ready since March 3rd," he commented.

"Atta boy!" Fergal patted his back. "Are we waiting for anyone else?" he asked.

"Yeah, Kenny's coming in about an hour, so we're going to wait for him. TJ, Nattie, and Claudio are all coming in about two, but we don't have to pick them up," Rami informed him. "Colby's already here. My mom wrangled him into helping decorate my house for tonight. It's hilarious to see."

Fergal giggled, imagining Colby up on a ladder trying to hang streamers, Rami's mom yelling at him. He was lucky he wasn't in that position – not that he would be, since he had only one fully functioning arm.

The two friends chatted as they waited on Kenny, who was on a direct 15-hour flight from Tokyo to Montreal. Eleanor was so excited to have him at the wedding – they fed off each other's personalities on every Skype call Kenny and Rami would have with each other. After he had won the G1 Climax and had been complaining to Rami and Eleanor about how "everything hurts", Eleanor was worried he wouldn't have been able to make it. However, after he declared _"There is no way I am missing El Generico's wedding – I wouldn't miss it for the world!"_ , Eleanor was all smiles. It helped that a lot of the other wrestlers were also happy to have him there – he was like the star attraction.

When Kenny finally emerged from the arrivals section, he had a giant smile on his face. Approaching him with open arms, Rami hugged him tightly. "You fuckin' made it," Rami said.

"Hey man, I could have been falling apart like this guy and I still would have gotten on that 15 hour flight," Kenny said, alluding to Fergal who was standing behind Rami. They hugged quickly before Kenny turned back to Rami. "I meant it when I said I wouldn't miss this for the world."

"That means a lot to me, man," Rami admitted, pulling away from the hug. "I mean, it means a lot to _us_. I know Eleanor would be saying the same thing if she were here."

"Where is she, anyway?"

"Getting dolled up for tonight and tomorrow," Rami said. "You hungry?"

"I'm starving," Kenny laughed, patting his stomach. "Let's go. I'll cut Fergal's meat for him and we can eat Lady and the Tramp style."

XXXXXXXXXX

Eleanor looked at herself in the mirror in Halla and Yousef's bedroom, her blush nikkah dress cascading down to the floor. True to her word, Samar Hussein had embroidered a few maple leafs into the beaded bodice. She had her hair pinned in a braided chignon, her make-up put on to match the colour of the dress. She knew the big day was tomorrow, but this was just as important to her, especially since it meant so much to Rami's family.

Before the formal ceremony started, the Imam asked Eleanor if she accepted her marriage to Rami three times – she said yes three times, and he provided the marriage contract for her to sign. The Imam was pretty modern and allowed Eleanor to be in the room, sitting beside Rami, for the rest of the ceremony. Everybody was standing around the room and when she walked in, she could see Rami swell with pride. They wanted to keep the nikkah extremely small, so only immediate family were there – their parents, their siblings and their families, Fergal, and a photographer. Rami stood up from the couch and took her hand in his, guiding her to sit beside him. He held both of her hands in his lap as the Imam continued.

Charles and Jean-Philippe agreed to be the ones to give Rami "permission" to marry her, as per custom curing the nikkah. After this, the Imam began the sunna khutba – a sermon – about marriage, and a taqwa. The Imam asked Charles if he gave consent to Eleanor's marriage – Charles said yes. The Imam then asked Rami, who gave an enthusiastic yes, making everyone laugh. The Imam asked him if he accepted Eleanor, to which Rami replied, "I do marry her," looking over and smiling at Eleanor.

The Imam asked for the marriage payment from Yousef, who presented it to Eleanor. The Imam began to recite du'as before he handed the marriage contract to Rami, who signed it without hesitation.

"You are husband and wife," the Imam declared, smiling at the couple. Eleanor shed a tear at the announcement, noticing that Halla began to cry as well. Everybody began to slap after the declaration. Rami and Eleanor stood up, Rami giving her a chaste kiss. He thanked the Iman before he and Eleanor posed for some pictures with him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Halla had made a feast for the ages. Eleanor was sure there was enough food to feed the entire block – hell, there was enough food to fill up every wrestler attending the wedding. She had set it all up in the dining room, buffet style, for the family to then bring outside to where the long table had been set up. Luckily for everyone, it was the perfect temperature outside for such festivities.

Before everybody could devour the food, Jean-Philippe banged on the table comically and chanted "Speech, speech, speech!" at Fergal, who was forced to stand and make a toast.

Everybody took hold of their glasses, Fergal looking around him. "Well, I don't want to say too much, because I'm saving that for tomorrow…" he began. "But, first, I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Sebai for hosting us here tonight, and to Mrs. Sebai who has made all this amazing food. Cheers to you, Mrs. Sebai," he raised his glass slightly. Halla smiled at the mention as everybody looked to her. "Next, I want to congratulate Rami and Eleanor on their nikkah today. Eleanor, you look stunning, as always, and Rami…eh, you look okay," he joked, getting laughs from everyone at the table. "In all honesty, there is obvious love between you two. And there is obvious love from everybody seated at this table for you…remember that. Everybody here loves you, and wishes you nothing but happiness. Your marriage will be great, and strong, and everlasting, if you keep showing each other love. To Rami and Eleanor!"

"To Rami and Eleanor!" everybody said in unison, clinging their glasses together for the toast. Eleanor and Rami got up from their seats to hug Fergal before sitting back down, ready to start their meal.

At the head of table, Rami and Eleanor were virtually unable to take their eyes off each other throughout the duration of dinner as everyone ate around them. Conversation was lively and was, of course, mainly about tomorrow's festivities. Rami's brothers asked about a honeymoon (virtually impossible because of their schedule; maybe during Christmas they'd escape somewhere) and what the marriage would mean for work (things would remain pretty unchanged, except now when someone called out "Hey Sebai!" they'd both look up). When the kids found out that Rami and Eleanor were starting to renovate their house, and realized that meant they'd "stay" in Montreal instead of Florida, Eleanor could see the light in their eyes. Maryam talked about all the things they'd do together. Henri was convinced it meant that Rami and Eleanor would come to all his hockey games.

When dinner was over, everyone decided to take a breather before moving on to the dessert. The kids were running around the backyard playing with each other, no doubt getting their nice clothes dirty with grass and dirt stains. Everyone else was mingling with each other, though everyone failed to notice Anwar sneak in to the house to grab his iPod and speakers. When he came back out and began to set them up, Eleanor finally noticed him.

"Anwar, what are you doing?" she asked.

"This place needs some music," he said, searching through his iPod. "You and Rami need to dance. This is a celebration!"

"Anwar, I'm not sure your neighbours -"

"Screw the neighbours! It's my brother's wedding and I'm gonna play music! And you guys need to dance to it!"

Eleanor definitely thought Anwar would put on some of the rap music he listened to – definitely something inappropriate for the children. As she was about to warn him not to do so, she felt Rami grab her hand and spin her towards him. The chords of a familiar song began to play, which sounded suspiciously like London Calling by The Clash, but Eleanor knew it wasn't. Rami pulled her close and started to dance with her, though she was too preoccupied trying to remember what song it was.

 _You got a thing about you_ _  
_ _I just can't live without you_ _  
_ _I really want you, Elenor, near me_

Eleanor began to blush as she realized the band and song – a cover of 'Elenor' by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Judging by Rami pulling her in and dancing with her, he knew this was going to happen – he planned this with Anwar's help. Rami even began to sing the lyrics to her, making her blush even more. Soon, their entire family was looking their way as they danced to the beat together. When the chorus came in, Rami swung her around, laughing and singing with her.

 _Elenor, gee, I think you're swell_ _  
_ _And you really do me well_ _  
_ _You're my pride and joy, etcetera_ _  
_ _Elenor, can I take the time_ _  
_ _To ask you to speak your mind_ _  
_ _Tell me that you love me better_

XXXXXXXXXX

In the front yard of the Sebai house, Rami wouldn't let Eleanor go. Charles and Catherine were waiting in their car for her, ready to drive her home to the Desjardins house. She'd have to wake up early in the morning to get ready, so she needed all the beauty sleep she could get. But Rami didn't seem to care. He held on to her tightly, not looking forward to relinquishing her.

"Do I really have to wait so long?" Rami asked.

Eleanor giggled. "Rami, it's in less than twelve hours."

"It's _too long_!" he moaned, pulling her towards his body and hugging her with his strong arms. "Woman, I travel the world with you. We're together 24/7. Twelve hours is too long!"

Eleanor blushed as she felt the warmth of his body. Rami was right. For all the time they spent together, working, traveling, sleeping, eating, singing, dancing, cooking, painting, fixing, training – twelve hours was a long time. He'd seen all there was to know about her. He knew everything about her – every nuance, every look, every emotion. "You really have seen me at my worst, huh," she said quietly, contemplating everything that they had been through in the time they were together. "You've seen everything. And you still decided to marry me."

"Duh. If I didn't I would be attending the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Spradlin right now," Rami joked, referring to Chris Hero.

Eleanor snorted. "Not a chance. I love Chris, but I love you just a little bit more."

"Just a little bit?"

Eleanor looked up at Rami, who was smiling down at her. "I don't think I've ever loved anybody, or anything, as much as I love you."

Rami kissed the tip of her nose. "The feeling's mutual, darling."


	56. Chapter 56

_Well everyone…it's been one hell of a ride! Thank you all so much for your follows, reviews, and favourites for this story. It really means a lot that so many of you have taken to it so well! I had such an amazing and fun time writing the story of Rami and Eleanor, and I hope you all had fun reading._

 _Keep your eyes peeled for 4-5 one-shots in the near future!_

 _If you guys want to visualize the dress, google "2015 New Beach Cap Sleeves Lace Wedding Dress Bridal Gown" and it's the first picture…I'm actually in love! I think it's perfect for Eleanor._

 _Also, I've posted the prologue and first chapter for my new Seth Rollins story…shameless self-promotion: check it out!_

 _Anywho, here it is….THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!  
_

XXXXXXXXXX

 _September 17, 2016_

Standing in a room to the side of the altar, Rami and Fergal stood together, watching as the guests filed into the church, sitting in the pews and talking amongst each other. Rami saw a few of his wrestler friends approach his parents to say hi and give them a hug – undoubtedly because whenever there were wrestling shows in the Montreal area, Mamma Sebai would make a feast to feed them all. He kept nervously checking his watch, counting down until 11 am.

When the music was silenced and the bell rang, Fergal knew the time was upon them. He approached Rami from behind, patting his shoulder. "Here we go," he smiled at him.

Rami took a deep breath – this was it.

The two men made their way from the room to the altar together as the new music began to play, everyone in the church standing on their feet. Rami saw Jean-Philippe and Catherine sitting in the front row, then saw his mom, dad, and brothers on the other side, sitting front row as well. He smiled at them as he noticed the priest and his altar boys and girls walking down the aisle first. Following him was Margot, draped in a floor-length dusty pink gown, holding a bouquet of flowers. Rami watched as Jean-Philippe's eyes lit up at the sight of his wife – even he had to admit she looked absolutely beautiful. If Margot looked this good, what did Eleanor look like?

Following Margot were their nieces and nephews. Henri and Ali held each other's hands, leading Elodie, Maryam, and Rosaline to the altar. Rami smiled as the guests cooed at their cuteness. They filed into the pew with Margot, eagerly looking back to get a good look at their aunt.

With Fergal beside him and Margot and the kids in the pew, Rami knew Eleanor was next. He began to hear the snapping and clicking of the photographers' cameras and looked to the back of the church. Eleanor and her father were standing at the beginning of the aisle. When he saw her, he was overcome with emotion almost instantly. There she was – Eleanor, his Eleanor, walking down the aisle in a beautiful lace wedding dress, her cathedral-length veil following behind her. He wiped away a few tears that had already fallen. He didn't know how he was going to keep it together throughout the ceremony.

When Eleanor and Charles approached the altar, Charles lifted Eleanor's blusher, kissing her on each cheek and giving her a long hug. Rami stepped down from the altar to hug Charles. "You take good care of my daughter now," he said, his voice cracking.

"I will. I promise you," Rami said.

"No more flippy stuff – you play it safe in the ring," Charles joked as he pulled away from Rami, patting his arm. Rami couldn't help but laugh at Charles' request, nodding his head in agreement with him.

He finally turned towards Eleanor, finding her already smiling at him. He could feel himself getting emotional again. "Fancy seeing you here," she smiled.

"You look…" Rami began, unable to finish the sentence. There was no way he'd be able to get the words out.

"You look pretty dapper yourself," she said, knowing the sentiment of what he was going to say. "You ready to get married?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Father Michel stood before Eleanor and Rami, smiling down at the couple. "Rami and Eleanor, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?"

"I do."

"I do."

"Will you honour each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?"

"I will."

"I will."

"Will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his church?"

"I will."

"I will."

"Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands and declare your consent before God and his church," said Father Michel, looking at Rami.

Father Michel began to recite the traditional Catholic vows for Rami. "Rami, please repeat after me. I, Rami…"

"I, Rami…"

"Take you, Eleanor…"

"Take you, Eleanor…"

"To be my wife."

Rami paused. "To be…" his voice cracked again, tears escaping down his cheeks. Eleanor looked at him, beginning to cry as well. She raised her left hand to wipe his tears with her thumb. Rami composed himself as much as possible, taking a deep breath before continuing with the vows, repeating after Father Michel. "I, Rami, take you, Eleanor, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you, in good times and in bad, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life."

Father Michel, turning to Eleanor, smiled and repeated the same vows for her. "I, Eleanor, take you, Rami, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you, in good times and in bad, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life."

Father Michel asserted their declarations, praying for God's blessing on the couple. He then turned to Fergal, standing behind Rami. "The rings, please."

Fergal slipped the two wedding bands off his thumb and pinky fingers, hanging them to Father Michel. He blessed the rings and said a few words before turning back to Rami and Eleanor. He handed Eleanor's wedding band to Rami. She raised her left hand and Rami's hand trembled as he held the delicate rose gold band at the tip of her finger. "Eleanor, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," Rami repeated after the priest, finally slipping the band onto her finger.

Father Michel then gave Rami's wedding band to Eleanor, and she held his left hand in hers. "Rami, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," she repeated the words, pushing the band onto Rami's finger.

Father Michel smiled widely at the couple. "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. Rami, you may kiss your bride."

Rami smiled before he pulled Eleanor in, giving her a chaste but loving kiss as the entire church erupted in applause. Finally, they were man and wife.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What a beautiful ceremony they had," Colby mused as he set his plate of hors d'oeuvres down on the table. "I haven't been to many church weddings before, but that was amazing."

Sitting beside him, Claudio nodded his head in agreement. "I know man. When Rami started crying during the vows, I almost started crying too."

"Were you crying because of the vows or because Rami looks hella good in that Valentino suit?" Kenny Omega piped in, causing everyone to laugh. "Cause I was crying at how delicious he looked."

"He's a taken man now, Omega," Nattie joked. "Keep it in your pants."

"I can't make any promises."

Guests mingled within the giant white marquees that were set up on the rooftop of Montreal's Palais de Congrès. The marquees were decorated beautifully, with swathes of white linens, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and a small orchestra of 20 instruments playing classical music.The food being offered was light but delicious, and there was a good selection: Montreal smoked meat sandwiches from the world famous Schwartz' Deli, traditional gourmet Quebecois poutine, Arab food, and fish tacos – which Colby knew was, of course, an ode to Rami and Eleanor's first date. Rami, Eleanor, and their families were taking pictures at various locations in Old Montreal.

Colby had already spotted Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minster of Canada, and his family, recognizing him immediately from seeing him on the news. It took him a while but he even recognized Earl Spencer, Princess Diana's brother – his mom made him watch Diana's funeral when he was a kid, and he remembered Earl Spencer giving the eulogy. He was sure there were more aristocrats and other wealthy people that he didn't recognize; he knew the Desjardins rolled with some very high profile people, so he had no doubt in his mind they were there too. He'd already said his quick hellos to Paul and Stephanie, who were keeping a healthy and respectful distance from the wrestlers – today wasn't about business by any means. Plus, Colby was sure Stephanie knew _someone_ here, what with growing up in Connecticut and all. If she didn't necessarily know anyone, truth be told, people probably knew her.

"So who here is gonna be the next one to get married?" Nattie's question snapped Colby out of his thoughts. "Claudio? Colby?"

Colby shook his head at Nattie's question, smiling at her. "You always gotta go there, don't you?" he asked rhetorically.

"What!" Nattie acted innocent. "I can't help it! I love love, what can I say?"

XXXXXXXXXX

At the Ritz Carlton, guests passed through the receiving line en route to the reception hall. Wait staff were passing around cocktails and hors d'oeuvres to guests as they waited patiently in line, eager to congratulate Rami and Eleanor.

With the amount of wrestlers present at the wedding, Eleanor wasn't surprised with how many times she had been hoisted off the ground while being hugged. She loved their enthusiasm. The first to greet her in the receiving line was Kenny, who picked her up and kissed her cheek as he congratulated her. "You take good care of my Rami-poo now," he said, pointing to Rami who began to laugh. "He needs a lot of tender love and care."

Eleanor giggled at Kenny's nickname for Rami. "If I'm not up to snuff, I know who to call."

"I will _book it_ from Japan to take care of him," Kenny said. He looked at Rami. "Remember that night I was the little spoon?"

"How can I forget?" Rami laughed. "The second I draped my leg over you and you caressed my calf, I knew we'd be together forever."

"You know, in some cultures that means we're married," Kenny mused.

"Should I be the one in the wedding dress then?" Eleanor asked, playing along.

"Nah, you have your day. Rami and I will have one soon," Kenny winked at her. "I'll see you in the reception hall. Congratulations again. You guys make the most beautiful couple."

When Chris Hero came through, he pretended to knee Rami in the gut. "You lucky son of a bitch!" he growled out comedically.

"No wrestling at my wedding!" Eleanor laughed, pushing Chris away by his shoulder.

Chris looked over at her and smiled. "Hey, how does my hair look?" he asked.

"Like you actually washed it," Eleanor blurted out with a laugh.

Chris feigned that her comment hurt. "I'll have you know, _Mrs. Sebai_ , that those of us with flowing hair all made a pact to have it in man-buns for you," he revealed. "We wanted to keep this a classy affair."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but we all know that elastic is coming out the second we all hit the dance floor," Eleanor said.

"That may be true, but at least we'll look good in pictures," Chris mused.

"Hey Hero, stop hogging up the line! Move along!" a voice called out. The three looked down to see Bryan and Brie Danielson waiting patiently in line, laughing at what they were watching. "Some of us want to actually congratulate them, not fawn over the bride!"

"I _am_ congratulating them!" Chris defended himself. He turned back to Rami and Eleanor. "Congratulations," he said quickly to Eleanor, before looking at Rami again. "You…congrats to you too, but _man_ am I jealous of you."

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh. She knew Chris's comments were all in good fun and he would never, under any circumstances, try anything, but he still wasn't shy about what he thought of her.

There were, of course, sentimental moments in the receiving line. When Kevin and his family approached, Rami and Kevin hugged and whispered to each other for longer than anyone else he interacted with. Eleanor knew she had to let them have their moment. When Colby came through, Eleanor could tell he was on the verge of tears. A lot had changed for him in the past year, especially in his relationships with others, so Eleanor knew this was a big deal for him. Even when the couples came through – Bryan and Brie, Nattie and TJ, Ben and Natalie, Phil and April – Eleanor felt the love in the words they said; more than just the "Congratulations" and "What a beautiful wedding this is," comments. It was the "You two are perfect for each other"; the "This is going to be the best time of your life"; the "We love you". Nothing made Eleanor more emotional than the "We love you" comments.

XXXXXXXXXX

They had their first dance – Jo Stafford's "You Belong to Me".

Fergal had said his speech – he had the entire hall in stitches recounting stories from the road, but ended on a somber note about love and friendship with Rami and Eleanor.

Charles and Yousef had made a joint speech – Yousef expressing his love and admiration of Eleanor, congratulating her that she had figured out early on that the way to Rami's heart was through his stomach; Charles thanking Rami for making Eleanor happier than he'd ever seen her, and for being "the best partner to Eleanor, son-in-law to Catherine and I, brother-in-law for Jean-Philippe and Margot, and uncle to Henri, Elodie, and Rosaline."

Now, it was Rami and Eleanor's turn.

"I first want to thank you all for being here with us to celebrate our special day," Eleanor began, surveying the room quickly. She saw the faces of so many loved ones; it was going to be hard for her to not get emotional. "It means so much to Rami and I that you are all here to celebrate our love and marriage. There are so many of you here, who are in loving and long-lasting relationships and marriages, and they provide us with such great examples of love and devotion. Our journey to marriage began on March 3rd, when he proposed to me here in Montreal, and along the way we have had an immeasurable amount of help, especially since we travel and work what feels like 24/7. There are a lot of people to thank – the first of course, being our parents."

Eleanor paused, as there was a light round of applause. She took the opportunity to look over to Halla and Yousef, sitting beside Charles and Catherine, and couldn't help but start to cry. "There are no words I can say that can truly express how much I love you, mom and dad, and how much I appreciate all the work that you do – for me, for Jean-Philippe, for your grandchildren, for the people of Montreal…you are, in all honesty, the best people I know. You give, give, give and expect nothing in return. I hope I can emulate that one day. To Halla and Yousef, thank you so much for accepting me into your family so quickly, and for teaching me how to cook good Arab food for Rami," she laughed, making the guests laugh as well. "You immigrated to Montreal in the 1970s to provide a better life for your children. You are the strongest people I know. You raised five successful boys and instilled in them the importance of hard work, family, and so much more. And I know that if Rami and I amount to half as good a parents as you were to your five sons, we will be okay."

Another round of applause interrupted Eleanor's speech, so she took the opportunity to wipe some tears away. "To Margot and Fergal, our best man and maid of honour – thank you for being the rocks in our crazy, hectic, beautiful life. You have helped us more than you will ever know. Margot, you have been such a staple in my life. I was six when I met you – I don't remember my life without you in it. You are the sister I never had, the wife I aspire to be, and the mother I want to become. Fergal, you have been the greatest friend to Rami since you two met. You have provided us with too many laughs to remember, but ones we will never forget. I can only hope that the funny stories you shared in your speech will continue in our lives forever."

Eleanor paused again, trying to collect herself. "Rami…" she began, taking a deep breath. He tightened his grip around her waist. "What can I say about you? You are the love of my life. You are my other half. In the book Wuthering Heights, it's written that 'Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same', and those words couldn't be closer to the truth for us. There is nothing I can say to you now that I don't already say to you in our life together. I can say I love you a million times but you know that. I will love you for the rest of my life…and maybe one day, I'll stop screaming about every bump you take in the ring, but that day is not today," she laughed, others laughing as well. "I love you, Rami Sebai."

As their guests clapped, Rami and Eleanor kissed, garnering a few cheers. Rami moved to the spot in front of the microphone, and flipped the paper to his speech. "Eleanor promised me she'd do the majority of the thanking since I am awful at formal speeches like this – I'd turn into a blubbering mess. Which will probably still happen, but that's neither here nor there," he shrugged his shoulders, smiling. "I want to thank everyone for coming and celebrating with us. I want to thank Margot and Fergal for standing with us today, and for being the best of friends to us. To Charles and Catherine, I want to thank you for your generosity in everything that you do, and for welcoming me into your home and family so kindly, and so quickly. To Mamma and Baba…" he had to stop, a tear falling down his cheek. "Mamma, Babba, I love you so much. You're my role models. There aren't enough words in English, French, or Arabic that can express how much I love you. Eleanor…my love and devotion to you knows no bounds. I didn't think I'd find anyone like you until I was old and grey. There isn't too much I can say that hasn't already been said, either. Know that I have always loved you – since tacos in the park. I always have, and I always will. To the moon and back."


	57. You're the Apple of My Eye

_December 25_ _th_ _, 2016_

It didn't take very long, but the Desjardins house felt like a home away from home for Rami, even though this was, technically, only his second Christmas with the family. It felt like he'd been coming here for years. In keeping with tradition, he and Eleanor had arrived at the house last night, after spending Christmas Eve with his family. Now, on Christmas morning, he was ready to have a day full of rest, relaxation, and food. Lots of food.

As he woke from his slumber, he stretched his arm out of its position to feel his wife – _wife_ – Eleanor. He would never tire of calling her that. Even though it had been three months since their wedding, he still got giddy anytime he said it. Only, when he stretched his arm out, she wasn't there. He turned to his side, leaning on his elbow, and saw her side of the bed empty.

She couldn't have gotten far, he figured, even in this massive house. Had he overslept? He looked over to the clock. 8:00am – he definitely didn't sleep in. So then where was she?

Suddenly he heard the toilet flush and the tap turn on from the ensuite bathroom. He settled back down in bed, finally knowing where she was.

When Eleanor opened the door, she was greeted with her smiling husband – _husband_. He was finally her husband. She couldn't have been happier. "Good morning, stud," she said, leaning on the doorframe.

"Morning," he said, his voice still sleepy. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too," she said, biting her lip. She stepped back in to the washroom to grab something, Rami watching her sceptically. "I have something for you, something I want you to open before we go downstairs," she said as she walked towards him, holding a box.

"What? Why? But all our presents are downstairs under the tree with everyone else's," Rami said, confused as to why Eleanor didn't put the gift under the tree. He knew how much of a tradition the whole family opening their gifts together was. He didn't want to spoil it.

"I know. But this one's special. I just want us…I…just open it," she stuttered out, a small smile creeping on to her face. It was wrapped delicately in Christmas themed Kraft paper with a giant silver bow on top.

Rami sat up in bed as Eleanor handed him the box, sitting opposite him on the bed, her legs crossed. He had a bit of trouble sliding off the bow – he blamed the fact that he has just woken up less than five minutes ago – which made Eleanor laugh but help him slip it off. After he tore the wrapping paper, he was met with a plain white box. He ripped off the tape to open it, being greeted with something wrapped in tissue paper.

"I think it could have used an extra layer of wrapping," he mumbled sarcastically.

Eleanor snorted. "Shut up you Samsquantch."

"That's not a nice thing to say to your _husband_ on Christmas morning."

"Just take it out of the box!"

Rami giggled, doing as he was told. He ripped the tissue paper open, revealing a Habs jersey with Sebai stitched on the back and a giant number 7. As Rami pulled the jersey out of the box, he realized something: the jersey was tiny. Very tiny. Very, very, _very_ tiny.

He held the jersey in his hands. When he looked up, Eleanor saw in his eyes, already laced with tears, that he came to the realization. "Are you-? Is this-? I mean are we-?"

Eleanor's own eyes welled up with tears now. "I'm pregnant," she whispered, a giant smile on her face despite the tears.

"We're having a baby?" Rami asked, a tear falling down his cheek. When Eleanor nodded her head, Rami completely lost it, crying as he buried his face in his hands and the jersey.

Eleanor leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're gonna be a dad, Rami," she whispered to him, tears streaming from her eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and giving her a kiss. Eleanor could feel the wetness of his cheeks. "I love you so much," Rami said against her lips, kissing her again. "This is the best surprise ever. I can't believe it." He lay down again with her in his arms, hiking up her pajama top and placing a kiss on her belly. "You're pregnant," he said, almost to himself. "You're pregnant! There's a little bean in there!"

Eleanor giggled. "I'm pregnant. Twelve weeks," she informed him.

"Twelve weeks! When are you due?" he asked.

"Early July," she told him. She saw tears well up in his eyes again, realizing she was due the same month as his birthday.

"Does your mom know? Does Margot?" he asked.

Eleanor shook her head. "They'll find out sometime today. Probably when we do the champagne toast. Right now it's just you and me."

Rami wanted to stay in this moment forever. He wanted to take everything in; every single detail, every feeling, every word said. Just him, his wife, and his little bean.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _December 29, 2016_

Rami couldn't believe he and Eleanor were in the doctor's office, waiting for the first ultrasound. He was about to cry at any moment. When they had told Eleanor's family, on Christmas, everybody cheered and cried. Henri was happy that he'd finally have a little cousin to play with. Elodie and Rosaline tried to convince them they could babysit. It was all very joyous. When he and Eleanor told his parents and family, on Boxing Day, his mother wouldn't stop crying. Maryam had spent the better half of their time together trying to convince them to name it Elsa if it was a girl or Olaf if it was a boy.

As the ultrasound technician fiddled around with the machine and equipment, preparing the gel and the wand, Rami sat next to Eleanor, who was lying down. His hand was placed over her tiny, miniscule, barely-there bump; Rami liked to think he saw one, even though Eleanor said she didn't see much of a difference.

"You said you're just about twelve or thirteen weeks along, Mrs. Sebai?" the technician asked as she swivelled on her chair towards the couple. Eleanor nodded her head. "Fantastic! Now, this is going to be cold and feel a bit weird, but bear with me," she said as the gel was shot against her stomach. Rami grabbed hold of Eleanor's hand and waited somewhat impatiently. The wand was placed on her stomach, moved around, and then the monitor was turned on.

At first, it was black, but then Rami recognized the outline of what he assumed to be Eleanor's uterus. The technician moved the wand and he took the chance to look at Eleanor quickly; her eyes were fixated on the screen. He looked back to the screen, and an image appeared suddenly…a grey little shape of a baby, surrounded by darkness.

"There's your baby," the technician whispered.

Rami didn't think he'd ever smiled so wide in his life. He felt his heart race, going from one to a million in a second. There was his baby, right there on the screen. He could feel himself becoming emotional. How could he not? Right on the screen in front of him was evidence that he created a human life.

"There's the little bean," Eleanor smiled. Rami brought her hand up and kissed it, keeping it against his lips.

"Judging by the size, you do look to be about thirteen weeks along. I'm going to measure it and determine its size for you," the technician said, concentrating on the monitor and pushing some more buttons.

Eleanor couldn't help but stare at Rami, who hadn't taken his eyes off the screen. She could see his eyes were red and welled with tears; he was going to break any second. The technician turned and smiled at the couple. "The baby is three inches, which is fantastic."

"And it's healthy?" Eleanor asked.

"If we use the size as an indicator, then yes. Would you like to hear the heartbeat?"

Rami and Eleanor nodded their heads fervently. The technician spun around again and continued to press some buttons. "I know it's going to be hard – all this is very exciting to you both – but I'm going to need you to stay as still as possible so we can get an accurate measurement of the heartbeat," she said to Eleanor.

Rami watched the screen in front of him. The image of the baby – the bean, he would call it – became smaller as the heartbeat monitor now appeared. Silence filled the room, the three occupants waiting for some sort of noise.

 _THUMPthump—THUMPthump—THUMPthump—THUMPthump—THUMPthump—_

Rami let out a sob as the heartbeat registered on the screen. Tears flowed freely down his face; Eleanor tried to control her emotions upon hearing it as well. The technician was able to get enough of a snippet to determine that the heartbeat was strong, and normal, and there was nothing to worry about.

"I'm going to print out some pictures for you two so you can show your friends and family the good news," the technician smiled. "Then you can be on your merry way. Mrs. Sebai, I'll book another check up in about four weeks time with your doctor."

Tears still flowed down Rami's cheeks. He couldn't believe he could see his little bean. He couldn't believe he was going to be a father.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _May 12, 2017_

"So basically what you're telling me is Rami is, and will always be, the biggest klutz we will ever know," Eleanor said, giggling at Colby's story. Eleanor, Rami, Colby, and Fergal had all gone to lunch somewhere in San Francisco, as they were in town for a taping of Raw. Eleanor had been traveling steady with the company throughout her pregnancy, choosing to work up until the 8-month mark, when she'd call it a rest and take her maternity leave. She had only about one month left on the road until she had to pack it in.

"As if anyone on this planet could out-do him," Fergal smiled, drinking some of his water. There were a few moments of silence between the four friends at the table, letting out all their laughs. Eleanor looked at Rami, who was looking at her. She knew this had to be the moment to bring it up.

"So, Colby, Fergal, we wanted to talk to you about something," Eleanor said, flashing them a smile.

"Yeah? What about?" Colby asked.

"Well, you two and Rami have been best friends for years now," Eleanor began, suddenly becoming really nervous. "And you've been such good friends…a great support to Rami…"

"Colby, Fergal" Rami intervened. "We want to ask you to be the godfathers of our baby," Rami finally asked.

Both Colby's and Fergal's faces brightened at the realization of what was being asked. "You want me to be the baby's godfather?" Fergal asked

"You want _me_ to be the baby's godfather, too?" Colby asked, astounded.

"Yeah, we do," Eleanor said, putting a hand over her bump.

Colby and Fergal looked at each other, smiling from ear to ear. "Oh man…oh man…of course! Of course I'll be the godfather," Colby's smile took up his entire face. Eleanor could see a tear roll down his cheek as he looked at nothing in particular, soaking in the information.

"Man!" Fergal exclaimed, getting up out of his seat to hug them both. He hugged Rami first, gripping him tightly, Colby following behind him. When he moved to Eleanor, he hugged her just as tightly. "I love you both so much," he said. "Thank you so, so much."

XXXXXXXXXX

 _June 29, 2017_

"Jesus fucking _Christ_ Rami, what the hell did you do to her?!" Fergal said, exasperated. He looked at Eleanor as she walked into the family room of her and Rami's house – instead of flying back to Orlando for a break, Fergal decided to fly to Montreal with Rami to pay Eleanor a visit. He missed her on the road and wanted to check up on her, seeing as she was due in a week. "You're _huge_!"

Eleanor nodded her head in agreement. "I know. I'm the size of a planet. The moon is gonna start to revolve around me soon."

Fergal shot Rami an angry look. "You're gonna fucking kill her!"

Rami giggled as Eleanor took a seat beside him, resting her legs on the coffee table in front of her. "Imagine she gives birth to one of those 14 pound babies," Rami said devilishly.

Eleanor shot him a look. "If your seed makes me give birth to a 14 pound baby I'm going to _murder_ you," Eleanor deadpanned. Fergal started cackling of laughter. "Don't laugh – I'm a hundred percent serious. We were both big babies at birth so I wouldn't be surprised."

"Has he been tending to you, like a good husband?" Fergal asked, comically blocking his mouth but still speaking loud enough for Rami to hear. "I want to make sure he's taking care of you."

"When he's home," Eleanor smiled. "Other than that, he can't help it. I'm actually not doing too bad…I'm not in too much pain, despite my size," she gestured around her.

"You taking any time off?" Fergal questioned Rami.

"Paul is giving me six days off after the July 3rd episode of Raw. I don't have to report back until the next Monday," Rami said.

"You think that'll be enough time?" Fergal asked.

Rami shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows…as much as Eleanor wants it to, giving birth doesn't adhere to a schedule," he smiled at his wife.

"Yeah, I can imagine," Fergal giggled. "She'd want to colour code the midwives so she remembers their names."

Eleanor shot Fergal a look as he continued to giggle. "You better watch it. I'm huge and hormonal – God knows what I'd do to you."


	58. Sweet Child of Mine

_July 11, 2017_

Eleanor knew Rami was taking the first flight out of Philadelphia. She knew he was on his way. But giving birth never adhered to a schedule.

Although Eleanor had been having irregular contractions for about a day and a half, her water broke earlier that day. She remained fairly calm – she knew Margot was essentially waiting for the call. Margot arrived with Catherine, who helped Eleanor retrieve her hospital bag and anything else she needed, and off they went to the hospital.

When Eleanor called Rami, he became so flustered that Eleanor had to calm him down. Being in Philadelphia wasn't helping – it was only about a 90 minute flight away, but when you factored in security screenings, possible delays, clearing customs, and travel time; who knew what time he'd arrive. He'd been given time off last week, when she was actually due, but obviously that amounted to nothing – the bean was a week late and proud of it. For what it was worth, Paul knew she was going to give birth at any moment and gave her his word that he would relieve Rami of his duties whenever the call came. He was generous enough giving Rami the weekend off last week.

All Eleanor wanted was her husband. She had Margot, she had Catherine, but she wanted Rami.

Doctor Tremblay checked on her at about 9:30pm, informing her that she was already dilated about 5cm – she needed to be at 10 to give birth. Everything was progressing smoothly, but the contractions were starting to get painful for her. _"That means the time is almost upon us,"_ he told her, but Eleanor would have nothing of it. She didn't care if they had to invent a new medical procedure to delay the birth – she wasn't giving birth until Rami was in the room with her. She mentioned this to the doctor. He shrugged his shoulders, but he knew Eleanor meant it.

When Doctor Tremblay left the room, Eleanor took some deep breaths to calm herself down. "You have to wait, bean," she began to speak to herself, rubbing her giant bump. "Daddy will never forgive himself if he isn't here for this. You can give me the worst contractions in the history of pregnancy, but just wait for him to get here, bean. Wait for daddy."

XXXXXXXXXX

 _July 12, 2017_

It was just past 2am when Rami came rushing through the room. Eleanor had been trying to get some sleep but the pain was sometimes too much. She felt like an epidural was in the cards for her – she didn't know how much longer she could take the pain.

"Eleanor!" Rami exclaimed, throwing his bag across the room and immediately going to her side, grabbing her hand.

Eleanor smiled at him, relieved to see her husband beside her. "Happy 32nd Birthday. You're here."

Rami smiled. Even in labour she was a sweetheart. "I'm here darling. I'm here," he said, kissing her hand. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm in pain," she admitted. "But I'm okay. I think I got an hour of sleep, if that, between contractions."

"Where's Doctor Tremblay?" Rami asked.

"Probably making his rounds. He's going to see how much I'm dilated when he comes back…and he'll probably have you change into scrubs."

Rami nodded his head. It was clear he was overwhelmed with everything that was happening – everything that he had to take in in such a short period of time. "We're having a baby," he said, almost to himself, as she stared down at Eleanor, moving some hair away from her forehead.

"We're having a baby," she smiled at him.

"There he is!" a voice suddenly beamed behind them. Rami looked behind him to see Doctor Tremblay smiling. "Mr. Sebai, you've made it!"

"I made it," he nodded his head.

"How about we go and get a pair of scrubs for you to change in," Doctor Tremblay suggested. "Then when we're back, we can check on your wife and see if it's time to push."

Rami's eyes bulged out of his head when he heard 'time to push'. Did he really arrive at the 11th hour? It was hard to tell. Eleanor had admitted she was in pain, but she wasn't screaming or swearing at him yet. She didn't even say she felt the need to push yet. He looked back at Eleanor, still holding her hand. "You'll be okay?" he said.

"I'll be fine," she smiled, nodding her head. "While you're out there go say hi to Margot and Catherine – they might greet you with some much needed Timmies."

As Rami left the room to change into his scrubs, Eleanor rubbed her belly again. "Okay bean. You can stop waiting. Daddy's here."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Push for one…two…three…four…five…six…"

"You can do it darling, you're doing great!"

"And again for one…two…three…four…"  
" _AAAAAHHHHOOOOWWWWW_!"

"I can see the head Eleanor! Keep pushing!"

"One…two…three…"

"Keep pushing darling, keep pushing! This is…oh my God! Oh my God!"

"Eleanor, you're crowning! You're doing a great job!"

"One…two…three…four…five…six…"

"Just a little bit more now Eleanor, one more push!"

"One…two…three…"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Congratulations! You have a son!"

Doctor Tremblay held the baby – _their_ baby, _their_ son – up so Eleanor and Rami could look into the face of their child for the first time. He then placed the baby on Eleanor's chest, allowing her to immediately bond with him. He started crying and wailing pretty loudly – clearly unimpressed with his new situation and living quarters not being as warm and cozy as his previous one – but Eleanor and Rami both knew this was a good sign. "Hi bean," she said, tears still falling from her cheeks. "You're finally here. We've been waiting for you for so long."

Rami couldn't take his eyes off his son. _His_ _son_. He leaned on the bed beside Eleanor, reaching out a finger to stroke his tiny hand. Tears rolled down his cheeks as his son wrapped his tiny, wrinkly, little fingers around his instinctively. "I have a son," he whispered. He looked at Eleanor and saw the same wonder, and amazement, and astonishment he was feeling. "We have a son."

"We have a son."

The midwives began to clean him, wiping him down with a towel, and Doctor Tremblay came to suction the mucus and other fluids out of his throat and nose. Their son continued to cry, Eleanor whispering soothing words to him.

"Hey dad," Doctor Tremblay smiled, holding a pair of small medical scissors in his hand. "Want to do the honours?"

Rami was taken aback for a moment upon hearing the word 'dad'. He almost didn't hear the rest of the sentence. Everything felt so surreal – just simply being called 'dad' was enough. Rami took the scissors from the doctor and carefully cut the umbilical cord – the midwife made sure to snap pictures.

"If you don't mind Mrs. Sebai, we'll quickly go weigh and measure him now, then bring him back to you," one of the midwives smiled.

Eleanor nodded her head as the midwife scooped up their son in a clean towel. Rami eyed the midwife as she brought him over to the scale. "Go with them," Eleanor said, urging Rami by rubbing his arm.

Rami stood up and walked over to the scale. His son was wiggling and squirming all over the place, despite having stopped crying for the time being, but he could see the numbers settle for in and around 8 pounds, 12 ounces. A beautiful, big, bouncing baby boy.

The midwife then moved him to another station, cleaning him some more before waiting to get the blanket and hat they would swaddle him in, before bringing him back to mom. Rami stood at the side, crouching down to look at his son, who was still wiggling in every direction. Rami noticed his eyes begin to open, and when he wiggled to Rami's side, he suddenly stopped wiggling altogether, becoming transfixed with Rami.

Rami reached out his finger again, caressing his son's face. "Hi bean," he whispered. "I'm daddy. Daddy loves you bean. Daddy loves you so much."

Rami saw Doctor Tremblay approach again. "The midwife noticed you had thirty seven missed calls and about 50 unread texts on your phone. You may want to start telling people…starting with your family in the waiting room," he smiled.

All that could wait. Right now, Rami just wanted to be with his son.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _IT'S A BOY!_

 _Rami and Eleanor Sebai (nee Desjardins) are delighted to announce the birth of their son, Xavier Yasir Sebai, born July 12, 2017 at 8:37am, weighing 8 lbs, 12oz. at Montreal General Hospital._

 _Xavier is adored by proud grandparents Charles and Catherine Desjardins and Halla and Yousef Sebai, and his many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Rami and Eleanor would like to thank the staff at Montreal General Hospital for their help and guidance._


	59. Home is Wherever I'm With You

_Thanks for all your feedback! For "canon" purposes, know that Xavier can be – and is, by everyone around him – pronounced both the English way and French way (Zah-vee-eh). When Rami, Eleanor, and anyone else say the shortened form, Xav, it's pronounced "Zav"._

 _August 25, 2019: SummerSlam_

"COOOOOOBBBYYYYY!"

Colby whipped his head around, knowing that voice from anywhere. "There's my godson!" he screamed, turning around to see Eleanor place Xavier on the floor so he could run over to Colby. He bent down on his knee and scooped Xavier up in his arms, twirling him around in the air before resting him on his hip. "How you doin', buddy?" he asked.

"Good!"

"Are you excited for SummerSlam?"

"Yeah!"

"Are you excited to see Daddy and Colby wrestle?" he smiled. Xavier nodded his head enthusiastically. "Who are you cheering for?" Colby asked. "Are you cheering for me?"

"Noooo," Xavier smiled as he shook his head, getting shy all of the sudden. "I cheer for Daddy!"

It was at this point Eleanor and Rami approached the pair, both smiling and shaking their head at Colby's antics. "What?!" Colby asked Xavier. "What do you _mean_ you're cheering for Daddy?!"

"Go Daddy go! Go Daddy go!" Xavier began to chant.

"What's Daddy's chant, Xav?" Eleanor asked, ruffling her fingers through his hair.

Xavier looked at Colby smiling, ready to show off. "Olééééé olé olé olééééé," he began to sing. A proud look took over Rami's face.

Colby's jaw dropped dramatically as he shook his head. "No no no no! If you cheer that I can't win the match! Stop!" he beckoned, which only made Xavier sing it louder. "Stooooopppp!" he screamed as he began to tickle Xavier, who exploded into a fit of giggles.

Colby adored Xavier – _adored_ him. He was completely and utterly enamoured with Xavier since the first time they met. Eleanor hadn't seen Colby so infatuated with a child ever as much as he was with Xavier. Whenever Colby saw Xavier, one hundred percent of his attention was dedicated to him. He would show him around backstage, bring him out to the ring while the arena was still empty, and give him any new Seth Rollins t-shirt available, which Xavier always thought was the coolest thing (besides Daddy's t-shirts, of course). When Colby would come up to Montreal to visit, he'd pretend to wrestle with Xavier on the family room floor at Rami and Eleanor's house, take him out for ice cream, and let him sit on his shoulders as they paraded around Westmount together.

The feeling was clearly mutual with Xavier. He adored 'Coby' and his other favourite human, 'Fergie'. Despite only having turned two this past July, he was a bright and conscientious toddler. Everybody in the locker room always mentioned how well spoken, polite, and well behaved he was for a two year old. He was smart, calm, and respectful – always saying 'Mr' or 'Miss' So-And-So even though the wrestlers told him not to. Despite this, he obviously had a naughty streak – he already knew that if he didn't want anyone to understand him, he could speak French, and get away with it with most of the locker room. They'd just ooh and aww and think it was cute. The look of pure terror on Xavier's face when he tried to do it in front of Claudio, only to have Claudio respond, would be something Rami or Eleanor would never forget. Now that he knew, Xavier spoke to Claudio exclusively in French, much to the delight of everyone around them.

More than anything, Xavier was a carbon copy of his father. Not only did they share a birthday, but Eleanor was convinced Rami's soul just split into two, with half of it going into Xavier. Sure, he got some Desjardins traits – he was pretty tall for his age, as many of the Desjardins men were – but everything else was Rami. His eyes, his nose, his red hair, the way he spoke and his general demeanour – she had a little Rami running around at all times. There was no denying whose son he was.

Rami and Eleanor had no qualms about leaving Xavier with Colby for the time being while they got set up in the locker room. Rami and Eleanor found Kofi and Big E in the locker room and engaged in some small talk before Kofi and Big E left to find Colby with Xavier. Alone in the locker room, Eleanor thought this was the perfect opportunity to talk to Rami.

"When do you have to go into production tonight?" Rami asked, setting his bag down on one of the benches. Eleanor set her purse down and unzipped it, making sure what she needed was inside.

"Not sure yet, I still have to see Paul," she said.

"What about Xav?"

"Xav's watching the first half with Claudio and the second half with Nattie," she informed him. "And then when I get out, he's watching your match with Mommy."

"Okay, good," Rami smiled, taking his gear out of his bag. "We're really lucky that he's so good, eh? He can go with anyone and not be a problem. Not a lot of kids can do that."

"I know," Eleanor said, rubbing his back. "I hope our next child is the same."

Rami laughed. "Yeah, me too…eventually."

Eleanor tried to supress her smile. "Well, it's gonna happen sooner rather than later."

Rami stopped retrieving his gear mid-reach. He turned his head slowly towards Eleanor, his eyebrows raised. "What's that supposed to mean?" a smile creeping on to his face.

Before she said another word, she took the pregnancy test she took earlier that week and handed it to him, the little positive signal all he wanted to see. "You're pregnant?"

Eleanor nodded her head. "I mean, I've got to go get confirmation from the doctor, but according to three pregnancy tests and the fact that I've missed my period for a while now…yeah, I'm pregnant," she smiled.

"Holy shit…" he whispered, digesting the information. "Holy shit! You're pregnant again!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her and twirling her in the air. "I can't…I mean…God damn, you're pregnant! This is awesome!"

He set her down and gave her a deep kiss. "You don't even know how happy I am to hear that," Rami said, kissing her quickly again. "Xavier is gonna be a big brother! We need to tell him! And my parents and your parents and -"

"Let's wait until after my doctor's appointment," Eleanor stopped him. If it was up to him, he'd be telling the teenagers who worked at the food stands in the arena within five minutes. "For now it's just you and me."

"You, me, and the Timbit," Rami corrected her.

"The Timbit?" Eleanor snorted. "Could we _be_ any more Canadian?"

XXXXXXXXXX

 _August 29, 2019_

"Xavier! Your lunch is ready!" Eleanor called out, placing his small bowl of pasta on the table, beside Rami's plate of food.

Rami and Xavier had been playing Legos all morning while she had gone to the doctor, to make sure she was pregnant. Upon hearing the news that she was indeed pregnant, and due in late February, she knew she and Rami would be able to give Xavier, and their families, the good news.

Soon, she heard Xavier's little footsteps running from the family room. She looked out and saw Rami chasing behind him. "You're too fast for me!" he yelled after his son. "Slow down Speedy Gonzales!"

Eleanor scooped Xavier up in her arms, giving him a kiss before she sat him down in his seat. He picked up his fork with ease, but Eleanor eyed him, making sure he didn't start eating his food before everyone was seated at the table. When he waited for Rami to sit down, she smiled to herself. He began to eat his pasta by himself as Rami scarfed down his own plate of pasta.

"Xavier," Rami began once Eleanor gave him a look to initiate the conversation. "Do you know why Mommy went to the doctor today?"

"Is Mommy sick?" he asked.

"No, Mommy's not sick," Eleanor smiled, reaching her arm out to caress his cheek.

"Is it because Mommy has a baby in her belly?" Xavier asked.

Both Eleanor and Rami were taken aback by his question. "…You know Mommy has a baby in her belly?" Rami asked sceptically.

"Mhm. Mommy has a baby sister in her belly."

Eleanor laughed. "Xavier, just because Henri has little sisters doesn't mean it will be the same for you," Eleanor said.

"I know, but Mommy, you're going to have a girl," he said.

Eleanor and Rami couldn't help but laugh silently. Xavier sounded so sure of himself. Kids really do say the weirdest things.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _December 31, 2019_

"You're carrying the same as you did with Xavier – do you think it's another boy?"

"How does this pregnancy vary from Xavier's?"

"Did you find out the sex of the baby this time around?"

"Have you thought of any names yet?"

Eleanor was getting inundated with questions from the likes of Nattie, Pamela, Natalie and Becky. They were all in Montreal, at her and Rami's house, for her birthday / New Year's Eve. Claudio, Colby, Fergal, and Ben had also made the trip up north. Eleanor was due in mid-February, so the girls knew it was one of the last times they would all be able to hang out together before Eleanor went on her second maternity leave.

"It feels the same, to be honest," Eleanor admitted. "A little bit easier this time around, mostly because I know what to expect. She moves a lot more than Xavier did."

"Ah! That must be the most amazing feeling ever!" Becky commented.

Eleanor smiled. "It's pretty damn awesome, I must say."

"Hey, Rami!" Becky called out to him, motioning for him to come over to the group of women. Rami left his conversation with Claudio briefly and approached them. "Come sit beside me. We have some important things to talk about."

"We do?" he asked, confused.

"We do! Like, the fact that if Eleanor has a girl you have to name her Rebecca."

"Fat chance that's gonna happen – we don't need another one of _you_ running around," Rami quipped.

"Hey! You should be honoured to have your daughter be like someone as amazing as me!" Becky laughed.

"Who says I'm having a daughter anyway?" Rami asked.

"I mean, it's a 50-50 chance Rami, unless Eleanor gives birth to a unicorn," Nattie interjected.

"I might have a daughter…" Rami said to himself, as if he was just coming to the realization. "Oh my God, I might have a daughter."

"Don't start," Eleanor warned.

"She's not leaving the house until she's fifty," Rami said.

"And he starts," Eleanor face-palmed.

"She's not going anywhere. She – no – she's going to have bodyguards. Claudio will make a good bodyguard."

" _Rami_ ," Eleanor tried to snap him out of it, the ladies around her giggling.

"Kevin would _definitely_ make a good bodyguard."

"Please stop," Eleanor begged, a small smile on her face. "Kevin has his own daughter to worry about."

"Claudio! Claudio!" Rami waved him over. Claudio came over and looked at Rami inquisitively. "If Eleanor and I had a daughter would you be her bodyguard?"

"Bodyguard? If you have a girl she's not getting a boyfriend until, at the very least, forty."

"See," Rami pointed to Claudio as Eleanor face-palmed again. "He understands."


End file.
